


Camp Amon

by ziraseal



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: AU - mentions of pop culture because why not, AU where Korra lived in the North, AU- Homophobia De-Gay Camp, AU- no Avatar, AU- no bending, As fluffy as a kitten, Bolin is older than Mako in this fic, Counselor Badgermole tho, Everyone's gay, F/F, F/M, Homophobia, I hate Tarrlok, Korra's sixteen and Asami's seventeen, M/M, Set in the summer of 2016, a funny story, at least I think it's funny, basically emotionally invest your ass if you're going to read this, it's also sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2016-01-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 03:29:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 49,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5441792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziraseal/pseuds/ziraseal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Welcome to your new life, free of the evil and sickly homosexual spirit within.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cabin 16B

Eska’s car bounced along the dirt road. The scene would have actually been rather tranquil— if not for the circumstance Korra was in. The trees overhead were the most vibrant shade of green the sixteen year-old had ever seen, and the sky was a perfect shade of blue (not a cloud in sight). Today was the poster-child definition of summer. What a waste.

“If it is any consolation, cousin,” Eska said, interrupting Korra’s thoughts, “I wish to offer you my condolences and deepest sympathies. Father has never been an open-minded individual when it comes to such matters.”

Korra didn’t immediately respond. They turned around another corner— the Satomobile leaving a large cloud of dust behind. A facility was looming in the foreground, looking perfectly in sync with the forest. There were log cabins and volleyball pits and even a large lake with a mossy old dock, lazily floating in the summer heat.

“I don’t blame you,” Korra finally answered. She let out a small sigh, “You’re just the chauffer.”

“Indeed.”

A pothole sent the car jumping a foot in the air. Korra accidentally banged her head on the mirror but her cousin looked unfazed. The Southern Water Tribe suitcase spilled out everywhere (it was rather battered and tattered); shirts and books and anything you might need at a summer camp falling to the floor.

Eska kept driving as Korra hastily stuffed everything back into the suitcase. With just the right amount of strength she managed to snap the damn thing shut in time for the car to pull into the parking lot.

Korra looked up to see an old fashioned looking wooden sign looming above the entrance, like a bad omen:

 

Camp Amon

_Welcome to your new life, free of the evil and sickly homosexual spirit within._

 

“Here goes,” Korra thought sadly. “At least they’ll let me call Mom and Dad on the weekends. And It’s only for nine weeks.”

Eska parked the car and a cheery looking counselor walked up with a clipboard and pen in hand. Korra tried to avert her eyes— the longer she put off checking-in, the longer she could continue being queer, right?

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t liked a guy before. There was that one boy she kissed at the Glacier Spirits Festival back home. He was really sweet and caring. But he wasn’t quite as good at kissing as Hopah. Korra looked down at the dashboard in shame as she thought of what they had done together in secret— in the lonely hours of the night. She felt herself blush a little and then frown when she thought of her uncle catching them.

_You disgusting piece of trash! You dare come to my palace and defile it with such sickness?! …. It’s alright… we can just… I know a place… we can get you healed… I mustn’t abandon family… Camp Amon can take you in… heal you…_

She had been living with her uncle, Unalaq, ever since her parents were too poor to be able to take care of her. Korra would have gone to live with Kya, who was like an aunt to her, but Katara had gotten sick right around the same time. Kya needed to focus on taking care of her mother.

“Oh Kya would love this,” Korra thought sarcastically. “I wonder if she knows. Unalaq probably hasn’t told my parents.”

After a moment’s hesitation, she opened the door and stepped out, heaving the suitcase and avoiding eye contact with the overly enthusiastic counselor in a blue Camp Amon t-shirt trying to shake her hand. He looked like he was Water Tribe as well, what with the tanned skin and brown hair and all. Korra wouldn’t admit it to his face, but the dude looked like a seventies rock star with his goofy hairstyle and thin, pointy mustache. He was maybe seven or eight years older than her.

“Helloooo?” he asked her, waving his hand to get her attention. “My name’s Varrick. I’ll be helping you get settled in. Zhu Li! Do the luggage thing!”

A woman the same age as Varrick, but with light skin and straight black hair, walked up to the car. A pair of glasses were perched on her nose, concealing very pretty navy blue eyes. She met Korra with a smile and grabbed her suitcase.

“I can get that by myself, you know.”

“Nonsense,” Varrick said with a sly grin, “You get to have the Grand Tour before we have our first Camp meeting! After that’s dinner and then after that you’ll get to settle in for the night.”

“Great,” Korra said with fake enthusiasm.

Eska signed a clipboard as the official person to be able to pick up Korra when she finished the program. Korra was betting five bucks that Desna would show up instead and they wouldn’t notice.

“I suppose we can skip the meeting with Tarrlok. According to your file, everything’s been paid for and all forms taken care of by your uncle… Unalaq, is it? Isn’t he the chief of…”

“Let’s just go on the tour, man.”

To be perfectly frank, Varrick was the kinda guy you just tuned out during a conversation. He was supposed to be showing her the different facilities at the Camp, but instead he was going on and on about how great it was to go through this program; as if Korra needed to hear how bad being gay was from another person— maybe nine weeks was a bit much.

“Ah, here we are! This is the dock! We have scheduled swim time once a week— all camp activity!”

“Only once a week?”

“What, do you think you’re here to lounge around and goof off? We’re doing serious work here, missy!”

“But I’m _Water_ Tribe. We don’t just go swimming once a week. You know that as much as I do,” Korra complained.

Varrick fiddled with his mustache thoughtfully, “Well I suppose I could talk to the brothers. Tarrlok won’t have a problem with it. I might have to bargain your free time with Noatak.”

Korra shrugged. What was she going to do during free time, anyways? Read a book? Mope about getting caught? It wasn’t as though she could write any letters to Hopah. Not that Hopah would want to talk to her.

“I’d really appreciate it… Varrick,” she said with a fake smile.

The counselor nodded and led her to the dining hall. All in all, there were maybe thirty other kids. It looked like Korra was the last one to check in— and Varrick’s tour probably took longer than normal due to his unnecessary monologue about being straight.

 There were about eight large tables in the dining hall, each sitting six people. Korra quickly weaved through and sat at the table with the least people. Each table had a counselor at it— Korra was fortunate to sit at a table without Varrick. The counselor sitting to her right was maybe four or five years older than her, with a long black braid and a mole on her right cheek.

“Hey there,” she said with a friendly smile, “My name’s Kuvira. And you are?”

“I’m Korra,” the Water Tribe girl said with a shrug.

“Are you excited to be here?”

Korra’s patience broke. Surely this woman knew how stupid of a question that was. Like, who _really_ wanted to be here?

“No.”

Kuvira’s smile faltered, and Korra caught a glimpse of sadness in her eyes before the counselor resumed her act.

“Well, don’t worry. We’re here to help, and we’ll get through this together.”

_I wonder if she went through the program— she’s ringing pretty loudly on the Gaydar._

Two boys were sitting to her left. One was a nice, energetic boy who, in Korra’s opinion, was pretty blatantly flamboyant. He looked like he was from the Earth Kingdom, but surely he was only fifteen? He had on a really nice green outfit with a gold trim that must’ve cost a pretty penny.

“Hey there,” he said casually, ruffling his hand through his brown hair. “The name’s Wu.”

“Nice to meet you,” Korra mumbled.

Wu wouldn’t stop chatting to Korra, and it became pretty obvious that he was hella gay.

“Got anyone special back home?” he asked.

Korra didn’t answer.

Wu gave a wink, and it made her feel a little less alone. “I _had_ the best boyfriend in the world, but when my great Aunt found out, well we decided to break things off before it got nasty. I’m not much of a long distance guy, and I wanted my Aunt to leave the poor boy alone. So I’m stuck here… what about you?” he said, turning to the guy across the table.

The other boy was the mysterious, dark, and broody type. How cliché was that? He had spiky black hair and really funky eyebrows (like little sharks), but he was easy enough on the eyes. His fingers kept fiddling with a red scarf draped on his shoulders. Behind the “Edward Cullen act”, he looked a little nervous.

“What’s there to say? I had a thing with a dude, Tahno, and I got caught by my foster dad, Toza.”

“Oh, that sucks, man,” Wu commented casually.

“Yeah, well… shit happens,” he mumbled. “I’m Mako.”

“Quite down, you guys, Noatak is about to start talking,” Kuvira chided.

Korra could have sworn she’d given them a wink, though.

A tall, handsome man with Water Tribe features walked up to the stage. He had a microphone in his right hand and was talking to the crowd with the same kind of enthusiasm that door-to-door salesmen have. Korra didn’t really pay him any attention, except when he got to the part about free time. She craned her neck to hear better.

“You will get two hours in the evening before dinner to relax and reflect on what you have learned for the day. You may do whatever you want with that time, but you will be spending it in groups and with a counselor in sight.”

Nobody _booed_. Nobody groaned and complained. Korra could feel an aura of fear radiating from these kids.

“ _Well fuck_ ,” she thought. She let out a huff. “ _There’s no way he’s gonna let me go swimming unless it’s in a group.”_

Mako shot her a glance and raised one of his eyebrows. She waved him off.

“You will each be living in a cabin with another roommate, those of you who are spending your first summer here will be sharing a cabin with a roommate who can ‘show you the ropes’, as they say. Cabins will be inspected every night before light’s out. Wouldn’t want you guys to be snuggling in contraband, no would we?” Noatak said, chuckling at the last sentence.

No one laughed.

Noatak listed off some more rules; no being alone with a member of the same sex away from counselor supervision or the dormitories. Pretty obvious. No drugs, alcohol, or pornography. Also fucking obvious. No cellphones allowed.

“ _DAMMIT_ ” Korra thought.

She had left her cellphone in the front pocket of her suitcase, and she was certain Zhu Li and the other counselors were searching everyone’s bags for banned paraphernalia. No wonder they wanted to take her luggage when she arrived. Dammit, dammit, dammit! Her cellphone was the only connection she had to her friends in the North. All… one of them. And Hopah probably didn’t want to text Korra back after what happened. She supposed it wouldn’t be much use. Still, it would have been nice to know that the counselors were going to go through her shit.

“All right, everyone. Try to get settled in. We start tomorrow. It’s your brand new life awaiting you!”

No one cheered.

Noatak hopped off the stage and gave another man a nod. He looked a little younger, with three really wacky braids in the back, but they looked related. He must’ve been Tarrlok.

“ _Man, how many Water Tribe people work here anyways_?” Korra thought curiously.

The counselors and older campers, who knew the routine, stood up and beckoned for everyone to follow. Everyone walked up to a buffet-style arrangement of food. There were a handful of cooks standing around, no doubt waiting for praise.

“Hey Mako, how’s the camp treating you?” one of the cooks said jokingly.

“Hey Bolin,” Mako said with a hint of a smile (Korra hadn’t thought that possible).

“Do you know this guy?” Wu asked curiously.

“Yeah, he’s my… he’s a friend,” Mako said, glancing at Kuvira. She was busy chatting with another counselor. “But we probably shouldn’t talk about it here.”

Overall, the quality of the food wasn’t bad. Then again, this place was hella expensive. There’s no way Senna and Tonraq could afford it. Not that they would send Korra here. 

“ _Nine more weeks, Avatar_ ,” she thought, using her parent’s nickname for her. “ _You just have to make it through nine more weeks_.”

After dinner everyone went outside. Because they were both new to the program, Mako and Wu didn’t get to be roommates (Korra thought she saw a flash of disappointment on Wu’s face). Kuvira pointed the girl in the direction of Tarrlok’s roster, which had cabin assignments on it.

“Ah yes, Korra is it?” he asked, not even bothering to make eye contact. “Your Uncle Unalaq told me all about you. I do hope that you can find yourself on the _correct_ path here.”

Korra rolled her eyes (thankfully he didn’t notice). Tarrlok assigned her to cabin 16B and sent her away.

The cabins were arranged in two rows of eight, and each one was spaced really far away from the rest. Korra was stuck all the way at the very, very, back. Which meant she would have to walk further to get to everything.

“ _At least he’s giving me privacy._ ”

Korra strolled past all the other cabins on her way to her new home. Kids were bustling to unpack, while counselors were dictating which decorations were appropriate for boys and which ones were suitable for girls. Korra watched as girls were forced to throw out sports posters and boys discarding inappropriate t-shirts.

“Come on, dude, really? It’s Ellen Degeneres! She’s amazing!” Wu moaned to Kuvira.

The counselor didn’t even hesitate. “I’m sorry Wu, but Tarrlok doesn’t want anything that could confuse you and the other campers on your proper sexuality. It has to go.”

Wu slapped the rolled-up poster into Kuvira’s hand. As she walked out of the cabin, Korra could swear she heard the boy say something along the lines of, “I’m not confused about my fucking sexuality. Fucking bigots.”

Korra walked up the creaking stairs of cabin 16B. It smelled like dust and cobwebs and… jasmine? The door was shut and Korra knocked. Nobody answered, and she carefully peeped inside.

“Um, hello? Anyone home?”

No one answered.

Korra let out a sigh and pushed her way in. Her battered Water Tribe suitcase was laying on the bed. When she opened it, she couldn’t help but let out a snort. All of her clothes, which she had hastily stuffed into it, were neatly folded. Sure enough, Zhu Li and whoever else had searched through her stuff, hoping to find contraband and other goodies.

“ _Sorry to disappoint_.”

 Korra frowned. Her cellphone wasn’t in the front pocket. In its place was a piece of paper. They must’ve given everyone this paper if they had contraband:

_We’ve confiscated this item as it was in the list of inappropriate equipment to bring to Camp Amon. The Camp Directors will hold onto it, provided it was an item deemed lawfully legal to remain in your possession. If so, please contact the Camp Directors at the end of the program. Any illegal items, such as drugs, weapons, or alcohol have been properly disposed of without notice to your parent or guardian. We hope that you will see this as a gesture of good faith, and not repeat this offence again. Pornography has also been disposed of. This is your first and only warning._

Korra unrolled her sleeping bag and pillow (which had also been neatly searched and rearranged by Zhu Li). She felt like crashing then and there; it had been a long day. She laid back on the pillow and tried to take a nap.

Someone could be heard coming up the wooden steps, and Korra sat up— rubbing her eyes. The door creeped open, and someone walked inside. The girl sat her luggage down on the bed— geez, who needs that many suitcases?!

The light switch flicked on. Korra hadn’t even seen it before. As the two girls looked at each other Korra’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

Her roommate was the most gorgeous girl she had ever seen.

“ _Fuck._ ”


	2. One Big Fucking Bouncy House

Well, for starters, Hopah had dyed her hair purple, was roughly Korra’s height and build, and always had a smirk on her face (like she was going to prank someone). Sure, Hopah was pretty. But this girl? Oh man, she could have made it big in the mover industry.

She was really tall, slim, and held herself with the grace of a princess. Her jet black hair curled in all the right places and shined with the perfection only achieved by a master hair stylist. And boy, could she wear make-up. Korra wondered what flavor her lipstick was. Her jacket was red and black, embedded with the Future-Industries logo. She stared into green eyes that reminded her of a sour apple flavored sucker.

To put it plain and simple, this girl looked amazing.

“Hey there,” she said with a sly smile. “My name’s Asami. Asami Sato. I guess we’re going to be bunkmates this summer.”

Korra snapped out of whatever trance this girl was putting her in.

“Uh, hi. I-it’s nice to meet you, I’m K-korra.”

Korra shook hands with Asami. Her hands weren’t soft, like the Water Tribe girl had been expecting, but calloused and scarred.

“So, you’re not new to this camp?”

Asami shook her head, “No, this is my third summer.”

“Holy shit!”

Korra probably shouldn’t have said that. What if Asami wasn’t cool with swearing? It was just… damn son! Three years of this bullshit? How gay was this girl?!

But Asami simply nodded, “Yeah, I made the mistake of coming out to my dad a few years back… he didn’t take it too well. He just sends me every summer so that he doesn’t have to worry about me while he goes off and does business meetings and shit. I don’t think he actually believes in the whole ‘Camp Amon’ act.”

“That’s gotta be expensive,” Korra said with a whistle.

Asami winced. Maybe money was a sensitive subject with her family too?

“It doesn’t matter to him.”

The girls stayed up for two hours talking. Asami told Korra about her mother’s death, and in turn Korra told her about all of her family trouble. About Hopah and Unalaq. It felt good to get it out.

“So what’s the scoop on the counselors? That Kuvira chick seems pretty lax.”

Asami shrugged, “I think this is her first year on staff. But she knows the place pretty well. She probably came here as a kid.”

“Are all of the counselors also former campers?”

“No. But most of them are. I can count the ones who were born straight on one hand.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah,” Asami chuckled, “This place is one big fucking bouncy house.”

Well said, Sato. Well said.

Light’s out was at 10:00, and the counselor assigned to check on cabin 16B was Zhu Li. She came in, making sure Korra and Asami weren’t doing anything against the rules. Even though they had searched everyone a only few hours ago, Zhu Li still checked under the beds and made the girls open their suitcases. Once she was satisfied, she put a smiley sticker on a chart near the door.

“Good night girls,” she said with a soft smile. She adjusted her glasses and straightened her shirt. “Flag is at 6:30 and breakfast is at 6:45.”

She left with a sharp and dignified posture.

“I wonder what her story is,” Korra whispered.

“She seems close with Varrick, but this is a first summer for both of them. Bolin too,” Asami whispered back.

“Isn’t he just a cook, though?”

“Yeah… the thing is, we’ve had the same cook for… like… a million years. Then suddenly he shows up instead.”

“Weird.”

“Yeah… well... welcome to the jungle. Goodnight, Korra.”

“Goodnight, sunshine.”

Korra probably shouldn’t have said that. But she was tired and sleepy and she rolled over on her side, facing the cabin wall. Not knowing that, across the room, two peridot eyes were staring at her back— their owner replaying Korra’s goodnight over and over in her head.

.               .               .

Korra groggily rubbed her eyes and yawned as a mix of veteran campers and newbies attempted to raise the flags of the Earth Kingdom, United Republic, Fire Nation, and Water Tribes. It was actually really amusing to watch, mostly because Mako was stiff as a board, like a soldier, as he tried to both raise a flag and salute at the same time. Korra stifled her giggles and even Asami had to wipe a smirk off of her face.

When everything was in order, the counselors corralled the campers into the lodge for breakfast. Korra and Asami managed to find Mako and Wu at the same table as last night.

Korra absentmindedly tugged at the pink Camp Amon t-shirt they were forcing her to wear. Asami had a matching shirt (but she actually looked good in pink). Zhu Li— who had woken them up/inspected the cabin at 6:00 am— didn’t approve of her choice of ruby-red lipstick (claiming it was too “out-going” for a summer camp), but allowed her to wear make-up that were a little less… dramatic.  

“Gooooooood morning cabin 16B!” Wu squawked enthusiastically. He looked really weird in blue.

Mako (who also looked bad in a blue t-shirt) rolled his eyes, and Kuvira walked up to the table— flicking Wu in the forehead.

“Ow, hey— watch the hair, woman!” he complained.

Kuvira (also looking as out of character as Korra in a pink t-shirt) sat down with a chuckle and began eating her breakfast. The others followed suit.

“Good morning, campers,” Tarrlok said, walking onto the stage with a smirk. “I do hope we are all ready for today? We’ve got quite the itinerary.”

Korra glanced at Kuvira, who was picking at her food and avoiding looking at Tarrlok.

“Well, if you haven’t already noticed, boys are in the A cabins and girls are in the B cabins— “

“Psst, Korra,” Wu whispered.

“What?”

“Wanna be in free-time groups with Mako and me?”

Korra glanced at Asami, who nodded with a smile.

“Sure. If they’ll let us.”

Korra felt a jab in her side, and looked to her left. Kuvira had a finger on her lips.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll shut up,” Wu whispered.

“— free-time groups will be organized by the counselors tonight, based on who plays well with others today. These are also the groups who you will be doing daily chores with— “ 

Wu and Korra groaned.

“— classes today are segregated by gender. Girls will be in the classroom, and boys will be out in the workshop.”

Out of the corner of her eyes, Korra saw Asami scowl and look at her nails.

“That’s all for now, enjoy your meal!”

Korra missed stewed sea prunes, but these pancakes were pretty darn good.

“Bolin is, like, fifty times better at cooking than Rota,” Asami said between bites.

Mako smirked, “Well he has better access to ingredients here. You should have seen him trying to cook in Republic City.”

Thirty minutes later Korra, Asami, and Kuvira were waving the boys goodbye. Everyone walked out of the dining hall and split into boys and girls.

“Come on,” Kuvira said with a wink.

Sixteen female campers and about four female counselors walked into a classroom. It was in one of those portable buildings, and looked really out of place in the middle of the woods. Korra almost sneezed— the classroom smelled like moldy books and old people. Where the hell did all the money go in this camp? Surely they could afford better furnishings.

Korra and Asami sat together at the back of the classroom, near the windows. Outside, the boys could be seen filing into a workshop, where Varrick was passing out tools. Korra smirked as Wu tried to pick up a screwdriver with two fingers and inspect it like it was some sort of ancient artifact.

“Alright, ladies, today we’re going to start off with some basic information about gender roles,” one of the older counselors (who was probably in charge) began.

Kuvira and Zhu Li passed out little red and black books to everyone. Korra stared down at hers with a scowl.

 

_The Book of Vaatu_

 

Korra knew that Unalaq was really into spirits, but Vaatu? Really? Personally, Korra was really into Raava’s ideology— treating people with equality and seeing the light in others. Vaatu— that was some pretty dark stuff. Chaos and wickedness and sinning. No wonder Unalaq had such a bad reaction to Korra and Hopah; people who followed Vaatu tended to believe that sinners went to the Fog of Lost Souls.

“This is yours to keep, ladies. We will be studying from this book and learning what makes a man and what makes a woman. Many of you are confused about your true selves because you were raised without the influence of traditional gender roles. But we’re here to help and heal you! Let’s get started. Jin, can you read the first chapter for us?”

A girl in the front began reading aloud and Korra tuned the lesson out. Instead she looked over at Asami, who was… doodling. Trying not to get the attention of the other counselors— who were invested in the reading— Korra craned her neck to get a better view.

“ _Woah._ ”

Asami had been drawing what looked like the Orion Spacecraft— down to the littlest bolts and screws. It practically looked like a blueprint. The paper was covered in calculations and Asami’s brow was furrowed as she tried to do mental math.

Korra, in one swift move, took her pencil and wrote on the drawing:

_“Did you draw this all just now?!”_

Asami looked at the message and smirked. She gave Korra a shrug and nodded her head.

The Water Tribe girl mouthed a “WOW” at her.

“Korra!”

The girl’s head snapped up in attention.

 “Since you seem to be so interested in what we have to learn today, would you like to read the rest of the chapter?” the older counselor called out.

The teen leaned back in her seat with a huff and flipped to the correct page.

.               .               .

For lunch, Bolin had made burgers. It was so sunny out that Noatak and Tarrlok had decided to hold a big picnic. Everyone sat in groups of five or six, with counselors dotted here and there. Korra stared longingly out at the lake while her friends sat down next to her.

“So what did you guys get to do in shop today?” Asami asked with interest.

“We learned how to use tools, nothing big,” Mako commented, laying down and looking at the clouds. “I used to have an after-school internship with a power plant, so I’m pretty familiar with everything.”

“I broke a nail on some wire-cutters.”

“Good job, Wu,” Korra laughed.

“I’m so envious of you,” Asami said wistfully.

“What about you lovely ladies?”

“We got to read about gender roles and which dresses we’re supposed to wear in which nations based on which gala we’re going to— I don’t even wear dresses, like, ever!” Korra moaned.

“Oh, Tomo was really into fashion design,” Wu said longingly. “He used to draw the most beautiful dresses— and I would model for him. He always loved drawing me in green, the scoundrel.”

“Was that your boyfriend?” Asami asked.

“Obviously… I don’t just model for anyone, you know.”

“Fashion design would be kinda cool,” Mako said, “but I’m more of a sports guy.”

“You certainly have the body for it,” Wu said with a wink.

“Quiet, Wu, or you’ll get in trouble!” Asami said with a laugh.

Kuvira sat down with a plate of food.

“So how is everyone doing?” she asked cheerfully. “Are you guys ready for this afternoon? You boys get to do woodworking and us girls are going to follow up on dresses with some sewing lessons! Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

She was met with icy stares.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you guys have any feedback!! I had a great idea for the plot this morning and I'm going to incorporate it. I don't know how long this fic will be yet, but if enough people like it... we'll see.


	3. Protect the Hair, Counselor Badgermole

“Hey Asami,” Wu said innocently, “You’ve been here a while, hmm?”

“Going on my third year.”

“So, uh, what are the chances I’d get caught by Tarrlok if I were to say… try to sneak in some vodka?” he whispered.

“What are the chances of Sean Bean dying in a movie?”

Mako and Korra roared with laughter. It was their third day at Camp Amon, and they were sitting out on the dock during their free-time. Noatak and Tarrlok had agreed to let Korra go swimming so long as the other members of her group obliged; everyone was more than happy to get away from the rest of camp and take in the scenery. Kuvira was parked in a chair at the shoreline, happily reading a book— occasionally shooting them glances. But she didn’t seem to care what they were doing during their free-time so long as they were being “straight”.

Asami and Mako had joined Korra in the water, while Wu stayed mostly dry on the dock. He was currently giving himself a manicure (the camp had unfortunately confiscated his nail polish).

Mako splashed Korra, “Dude, how would you even sneak vodka in?”

“I don’t know,” Wu snapped, “Maybe they have some hidden in a cabinet? Noatak looks like the type of guy who takes the edge off at night with a belt.”

“Maybe we could send a message in a bottle to one of the houses on the other side of the lake,” Korra chuckled.

“Not a bad idea,” Wu mused.

“Hey, Wu, why don’t you join us?”

“And mess up this hair? It took me half an hour— “

“He woke up early,” Mako mumbled, “The sun wasn’t even out. I'm not even in the same cabin and I heard him!”

“— and besides, I haven’t seen a _single_ lifeguard since we got here! What if I drown? Who will save me? Counselor Badgermole over here?”

“Uh, bro, half the people who work here are Water Tribe. We’re lifegaurds by default,” Korra scoffed. “Come on in!”

“The _hair_ , Korra. I have to protect the _hair_.”

The others shrugged and continued swimming. Korra had convinced Kuvira to drag some pool noodles out from a dusty old shed that probably hadn’t been opened in ten years. Mako and Asami had a foam sword fight on the docks, last man standing style. Asami wasn’t holding back, either.

“AAAAHHHH!” Wu screamed, as Mako lost his balance and tripped.

The two boys tumbled into the lake, with poor Wu doggie-paddling to stay afloat.

“Help me, Mako! Save me!” he screamed, scrambling to hold onto the other boy.

“Alright… calm down… ouch, dude, mind the neck!”

“Mako!” Asami laughed from up on the dock, “Protect the _hair_!”

“I’M WORKING ON IT!”

“Hey, no touching of the same sex!” Kuvira chided from the shore.

“But he has to protect the _hair_ , Counselor Badgermole!” Korra shouted back.

Everyone laughed but the Kuvira and Wu.

.               .               .

“Oh man, look at this mess,” Wu said, checking himself out in Asami’s pocket mirror.

“Dude, just take a shower tonight. You’re going to get up early to fix it up anyways,” Mako retorted.

“Yeah, but what if a cute boy see’s it and thinks ‘ugh that Wu dude is a total fugly’.”

“You’re not here to hook up, Wu,” Kuvira scolded. “Pass the salad, please.”

Korra swallowed another bite of spaghetti, “So, Counselor Badgermole, what’s the schedule for tomorrow?”

“Don’t call me that,” Kuvira said (she was smiling, though). “We have an all-camp activity led by Noatak. We’re going to discuss the likely roots of your individual cases of homosexuality.”

“Mine’s engineering,” Asami said with a wink, “every single time. Being smart and working with tools and shit made me gay.”

Kuvira blinked at the other girl, clearly stunned at Asami’s interruption, and resumed talking. “Uh… we’ll be doing various group activities after lunch. Does everyone have a journal?”

“Uh, what?” Mako asked.

“It said in the checklist before you came here to bring a blank journal. It’s going to help you to record your feelings this summer. You’ll be amazed at how much you change.”

“Miss, I’m dirt poor. My foster dad is using the winnings from my sports team to send me here.”

“Oh… well… I’m sure we have some blank journals in the store room.”

“And how was everybody’s day?” Noatak asked— with that same saccharine enthusiasm he had used the first night, and every meal since.

No one said anything.

“ _Way to go, bro,”_ Korra thought. _“You succeeded in enrolling a room full of introverts.”_

Noatak, unfazed as always by the silence, proceeded to talk about the day’s events. He moved onto the next day’s schedule, repeating what Kuvira had already confirmed.

.               .               .

Kuvira and most of the other counselors had a staff meeting after dinner, so all of the campers walked back to their cabins and settled down for the night under the supervision of only Varrick and Zhu Li. Varrick was loudly singing the “Secret Tunnel” song, with a handful of campers unenthusiastically joining in. It was 9:30. Korra and the group sat down on the stairs to Wu’s cabin.

“So, what do you guys say we find a way to ditch these losers and go exploring?” Wu whispered.

“That sounds like a horrible idea,” Mako scolded in a hushed voice.

“This whole camp is a horrible idea, little man. Besides, there’s only two counselors on duty tonight. The chances of us getting caught are like the chances of _Michael Cera_ dying in a movie,” Wu retorted.

“I’ve got an idea,” Asami muttered— glancing at Varrick and Zhu Li, who were standing together and whispering.

“Well, let’s hear it.”

“Once a week, the counselors get a break from babysitting. They get to go into town and do whatever the fuck they want, so long as they don’t show up on camp property smashed. Everybody coming back will be tired and relaxed and won’t know a thing. And Tarrlok and Noatak are already at their home on the East side of camp. We just have to wait until counselor lights-out at 11:00.”

“Oh shit,” Korra whispered excitedly. “Let’s do it.”

Mako rolled his eyes, “If we get caught, what’s our excuse.”

“We’re not gonna get caught, Mako. Lighten up,” Wu said, ignoring the no-touching rule and slinging an arm over Mako’s shoulder.

“Let’s meet by the docks and explore the woods. I bet there’s a perfect hang-out spot somewhere,” Korra whispered.

“It’s gotta be unanimous. It’s not fair to risk anyone’s summer stay if they don’t wanna get in trouble. And I don’t want to leave anyone out,” Asami said.

“I’m in,” Wu said. “Oh I am so in.”

“Yeah, I think we can get away with this,” Korra said with a smirk.

“Alright, what’s your stance Mako? Are you in or out?”

Mako looked at the two counselors on duty for a long moment, and then back at the group.

“Let’s do this.”

.               .               .

Zhu Li inspected the cabin, as per routine, and naturally didn’t find a single thing. Korra and Asami were brilliant actors, both of them were casually lying on their bunks reading novels while the counselor checked underneath and around everything for contraband.

“Alright, ladies, looks clean to me,” Zhu Li said. “Light’s out in ten minutes.”

“Sure thing,” Asami said sweetly.

Korra watched as the counselor swiftly walked out of the cabin and shut the door. She waited until the woman’s footsteps were far away to look over at Asami.

“And now we wait?” she asked.

“And now we wait,” the other girl answered.

Korra read until Asami had to turn off the lights. They sat on their beds together and whispered about whatever was on their minds.

“That drawing— yesterday in class. That wasn’t just an ordinary scribble.”

“Yeah...”

“So what is it?”

They could hear the dozen or so counselors returning from town; loudly stumbling and laughing as they found their way to the staff dormitory— in the middle of the cabin complex.

“My dad is Hiroshi Sato, and he lets me intern at the Future Industries factory. This is just a bored sketch of the Orion blueprints.”

“Oh… ok. WOAH! WAIT! HOLD UP!! YOU’RE _THAT_ ASAMI SATO?!” Korra whispered excitedly. “You were fucking rad to begin with, but duuuuuuude!”

Even in the nearly pitch black room, Korra knew the other girl was blushing.

“I didn’t want you to think I was some prissy, elegant, rich girl.”

“No, dude… you’re, like, so fucking cool,” Korra said, scooting over to Asami’s side of the cabin. “I would never think that about you. Unless I was jealous of you or something. But I’m not!”

“Um… thanks?”

“So what’s it like— Future Industries?”

The sliver of moonlight coming in through the window paled in comparison to the way Asami’s eyes lit up.

“Korra, you’d love it there. Everyone’s so friendly and intelligent. People coming up with new inventions left and right. All I want to do when I get older is make new technology to help the world. I just wish I wasn’t stuck here every summer.”

“Well, your Dad can’t stick you here after you turn eighteen, right?” Korra asked.

Asami smiled softly, and even though Korra could barely see it, she had never seen anything more beautiful. The engineer subtly laced her fingers through the younger girl’s. Korra glanced at the older girl’s lips; her lipstick was so shiny it was reflecting the moonlight. What flavor was it?

The girl’s faces were getting closer and closer together with each passing second.

_“Korra, think about what you’re doing. The last time you were with a girl, things went so fucking wrong. Do you really want to hurt yourself like this again?”_

Asami’s lips were six inches from Korra’s.

_“Korra, you’re going to fuck up everything. Ho don’t do it!!”_

There was a soft tap on the window. The two girls sprang apart like startled deer, refusing to look at each other and blushing profusely.

_“Oh my god.”_

“Hey, it’s us,” Mako whispered loudly. “Come on, the coast is clear.”

The girls scrambled to get up, and Korra had never felt more relief in her life… or more disappointment.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The angst in this fanfic is payback for all the other angsty Legend of Korra fanfictions (*cough* How to Live With a Ghost *cough*).
> 
> Ironically... "Protect the heir, Mako!"
> 
> Fun fact: I mentioned the Orion spacecraft because my brother got to help build it :D


	4. Spirit World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Mentions of Domestic Abuse

“Ouch Mako that was my foot!” Korra snapped to the darkness.

“Sorry.”

They pushed their way past more brambles. All four of them had to be extremely careful though; if anyone saw them with scratches on their faces from the woods they were sure to get in trouble. The group ducked around another set of branches and found a clearing.

Asami’s fingers “accidentally” brushed Korra’s.

_“Fuck… no…. now’s not the time Korra.”_

“Hey, what’s that up there?” Wu said, squinting at the shape in the darkness.

They stumbled forwards— clinging onto each other. It wasn’t as though they could bring flashlights with them.

“It looks like a building. Do you think we’re on camp property still?” Mako asked.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a fence going around the whole place. But I’ve never seen this building before,” Asami answered, tripping over Wu’s leg.

He helped her up, “Well come on, then! Let’s go check it out!”

The two boys and two girls peered into the dusty windows— there was absolutely nothing in there. Not even a box or two? Weird.

“One, two, three… PUSH!” Mako said, as they all piled against the door.

The four teenagers were all it took. A loud groan resonated through the woods as the door managed to open. Hopefully nobody would hear that.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, there’s not much, is there?”

“Is this, like, a store room?”

“Who knows? But they didn’t leave it locked, so it’s _our_ hideout now!”

Too bad there weren’t any couches, but in the corner they managed to find two dozen cinderblocks. Mako and Korra moved them to make something for everyone to sit on. Korra noticeably sat _across_ the room from Asami.

The four of them talked and joked all night— which was way more fun away from Kuvira’s prying ears. Korra got to learn about Wu’s shitty situation back home and how Mako lost his parents in a fire. She told them about her uncle and Hopah.

“Oh, girl, that fucking sucks!” Wu said, leaning back against the wall.

Korra shrugged, and looked at the ground. She could feel Asami’s eyes drilling holes into her.

“So what should we do here?” Mako asked.

“We should make a hideout here! A place to get away from all that Vaatu and “straight” shit,” Wu said excitedly.

Asami folded her arms, “What is there to do here? There’s no alcohol and no cellphones and honestly I’d rather be sleeping.”

“I think I know how to get us some alcohol, but you have to be patient,” Wu said smugly.

“How!?!”

“Now, now, mustn’t reveal all my secrets, Asami,” he answered.

“We can’t talk about this place around the other campers and counselors,” Mako noted. “What about a code name?”

They all sat and thought about it. No one came up with any ideas for a few moments.

“I’ve got it,” Korra laughed with a sly grin.

“What?”

“The Spirit World.”

“Sounds perfect,” Asami said.

.               .               .

 

“You all look tired,” Kuvira commented, setting her plate down at their regular table.

“The beds are so fucking stiff, I couldn’t get any sleep,” Korra yawned.

“Yeah, same.”

“I had a bad dream. Like, three different times.”

“Oh, I got plenty of sleep last night. I just have to deal with teenage angst and homophobic bullshit, so the bags under my eyes reflect my constant state of internal death,” Wu said sarcastically.

Kuvira choked on her eggs.

“Goooooood morning Camp Amon!” Noatak said, walking up to the stage. “Who’s ready for our all-camp activity?”

No one cheered, but Kuvira was still coughing from the eggs— so that had to count for something.

“Any-who, we’re going to be out in the lawn today, and don’t forget your journal for your classroom activities after lunch!”

Mako thumped the counselor on the back. She finally stopped coughing.

“Uh… thanks, Mako.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“We have a surprise for you tonight!” Noatak continued cheerfully, “We’re going to have a guest speaker!”

The dining hall murmured with confusion and interest. Noatak grinned at finally getting a reaction out of the audience.

“A very motivational speaker, to say the least. But I won’t ruin the surprise for you! Wouldn’t want to distract you from the lesson today!”

He stepped down and moved to sit with his brother.

“I wonder who it is,” Korra pondered.

“You’ll find out,” Kuvira said, continuing on her breakfast.

“Ooh, maybe they brought in an exotic male dancer!” Wu said excitedly. “That’s what I would have done!”

Mako had to thump poor Kuvira on the back again.

.               .               .

 

“Alright, so we’re going two split into two groups. It doesn’t matter what gender you are this time,” Tarrlok said.

Fifteen kids (including Wu and Asami) walked over to Noatak’s side of the lawn, while the other fifteen (which had Korra and Mako) joined Tarrlok.

“Alright, everyone let’s have a seat,” he said to the group.

“Today we’re going to be talking about the likely roots of our individual cases of homosexuality. Why don’t we start with… Lu! Would you like to talk first?” Tarrlok asked. Unlike his brother, the man radiated a cold and commanding aura.

A frightened-looking boy (who couldn’t have been a day over fourteen) scooched forward and twiddled his thumbs. “Uh, w-what do you want me to say?” he stammered.

“Well, let’s start with the basics. Do you live with both of your parents?”

“Yeah, my dad works at a factory and my mom stays at home.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“I had an older sister. She’s away at college.”

“How is your family? What are they like?”

“Um… they’re normal?”

“Come now, surely you have more to say than that,” Tarrlok said coolly.

“Mom’s really into reading and my Dad likes football?”

“How is their marriage?”

“What?” Lu asked with a trembling voice.

“We’re all friends here, Lu! Don’t you want to cure yourself of your homosexual demon?” Tarrlok inquired.

“Um… I guess?”

“Well, then, how is your parent’s marriage?”

“Uh… strained?”

“Really?” Tarrlok asked with feigned interest, “Please, tell us more.”

“D-dad comes home from work… drunk… and he’s usually m-mad at Mom and… he….”

“What does he do to your mother, Lu?” Tarrlok’s voice was growing softer and softer.

“He hits her!” Lu shouted, tears streaming out of his eyes. “He fucking hits her and I can’t stop him!”

“Why can’t you stop him?”

“Because I’m weak!”

Tarrlok stood up, “Well we’re going to solve that, Lu! We’re going to make you strong!”

“Really?”

The camp director nodded, “Mako, Korra, could you come help us?”

The two teens shot each other looks and stood up.

“Perfect. We’re going to reenact a scene. Mako, you’re going to be Lu’s father coming home from work, and not sober. Korra, you’re going to be Lu’s mother. Lu, this is your chance to say everything you’ve ever wanted to say to your father!”

Mako awkwardly stumbled across the lawn.

“Where’s that wife of mine?” he yelled, so loudly that the other group looked over.

“Uh… welcome home sweetie,” Korra said, hesitantly.

“You fuckin’ bitch!” Mako shouted at her, even slurring his words for effect.

Mako pretended to slap Korra, but kept weakly hitting her shoulder— which she found amusing because she was extremely athletic and could probably meet him equally in a sparring match.

“Dad! Stop it!” Lu yelled.

Mako was at least a foot taller than the poor boy, but in that moment he looked pretty small.

“I’m not going to let you hurt her anymore! You can hit me all you want. But. Leave. Her. Alone!”

“Yes!” Tarrlok cheered, “Take action Lu. Show your Dad you mean business!”

He tossed Lu a foam baseball bat.

“Go on! Show your Dad what’s what! He’s the one who made you weak, and that’s what invited the dark homosexual spirit into your soul!”

Lu gulped and looked up at Mako. Korra awkwardly stood to the side.

_“What the fuck, Tarrlok. This is some sick bullshit. Just leave the kid alone.”_

To everyone’s surprise, Lu took a swing at Mako— who just stood there, taking each hit.

“Yes, Lu! Get your anger out!”

For a few minutes, Lu was trying not to hurt Mako, it seemed. But as Tarrlok kept encouraging him, Korra watched as something snapped inside the boy.

Lu began to take really hard swings at Mako.

“Keep going Lu, you’re doing perfect!”

Lu paused for a moment, and it seemed like he was done hitting Mako. His eyes were filled with rage. Suddenly, he leapt forward— wildly swinging the foam bat.

“I— “

Another hit.

“hate— “

Two more swings.

“you— “

Ow! Mako was sure to have a buise after that one.

“so much!”

Before Lu could hit Mako again, Tarrlok pulled the older boy out of harm’s way and substituted him with a punching bag.

The group winced as the little fourteen-year-old got all of his anger out on Tarrlok’s dummy. It was heartbreaking. Eventually, Lu ran out of energy and needed to go sit down. Tarrlok sent him over to the steps of Cabin 4A with a counselor. Lu had his head buried in his hands and was sobbing, but Tarrlok didn’t seem fazed.

The morning continued on like that. A girl or a boy would talk about their family life, or how they were raised. Tarrlok would have them reenact scenes from their childhood. Some of the kids would hit others with the foam bat, and sometimes the scenes were more peaceful. More depressing.

Mako’s scene was horrifying. Tarrlok made him reenact his family’s murder. Two of the campers laid face down in the grass, pretending to be dead, while Mako had to hit another kid with the bat. It was obvious Mako was trying not to give the camp director the satisfaction. He was hitting the other boy as softly as he could. Tarrlok looked disappointed at this.

 “Mako! Try and get your emotions out! What do you really feel for the gang member who did this?”

Mako took another pathetic swing at the boy. His teeth were bared and his eyes held a fiery amount of anger. It was obvious to Korra that he didn’t want Tarrlok to win. Eventually, the poor teenager lost his enthusiasm for the activity and walked away from the group. Tarrlok didn’t stop him.

“Uh, sir, was that really necessary?” Korra asked. Surely this could be traumatizing?

Mako sat down at Cabin 2A, silently wiping the tears from his eyes with a red scarf. The counselor sent to talk to him stood up and jogged over to the kitchen. After a few moments, Bolin scurried out of the dining hall and made his way over to the front porch where Mako was sitting.

“Well, Korra, it most certainly was. Mako internalized his anger from that incident. All of those emotions bottled up inside him over time, and he used his homosexual spirit as an outlet for his anger, guilt, and grief,” Tarrlok said, his brow furrowing.

Korra glanced at Bolin, who had a hand on Mako’s shoulder.

“Since you were so kind as to speak up, perhaps you would like to go next?” Tarrlok continued.

_“Raava help me.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first part of this chapter is really important. They're probably going to need that vacation in the Spirit World to get away from all of our antagonists in this story. We'll see what happens there.
> 
> The second part of this chapter is based on the Father Wound chapter in the book "The Summer I Wasn't Me" by Jessica Verdi. I hope you enjoyed it. 
> 
> Chapter 5 will likely come out sometime tonight. Stay tuned!


	5. Me Neither

Korra leaned back against the signpost she was sitting near, “What’s there to say? My family was too poor to take care of me, so I grew up with my Uncle Unalaq in the North.”

“And how do you feel about this?”

“How do you think?” Korra snapped back. “I hate it up there. I had no friends except for the girl I got caught making out with by my Uncle.”

“Did your parents send you up there?”

“Yeah. Where else could I go?”

“Surely they had friends you could live with.”

Korra’s throat felt dry all of a sudden. Tenzin. She could have gone to live with Tenzin and his family. She’d known them her whole life… but…

“My Mom and Dad said I was safe up in the North,” Korra said, shaking the thought out of her head.

“Hmmm, I think we’ve only scratched the surface,” Tarrlok said with a smirk. “Did your parents ever ask you what you wanted?”

“No. I was only ten years old.”

“So you didn’t even get a voice. Hmm.”

“What’s your fucking point?”

“Mind your tongue, girl. Your bratty attitude is probably a product of the situation as well.”

“What are you trying to say, Tarrlok?” Korra asked accusingly.

“Tell me, did you have any friends in the South pole?”

“Yeah. I had tons of friends. My best friend was my polar bear dog, Naga.”

Tarrlok’s eyes narrowed. “I think I have it figured out.”

“What?”

“Your parents sent you away from a happy childhood. You had friends and family. Why, you even had a pet dog! But they sent you to live with your Uncle in the North without your input on the matter. There were better places to send you, weren’t there?”

Tarrlok leaned forward.

“You grew up without friends. You had to take all that anger and loneliness, and put it somewhere, didn’t you? A homosexual spirit can only enter our soul when we are at our lowest. You must’ve been an easy target. Family issues, no friends, being stuck in an unfamiliar place instead of with your parents, your cousins teasing you—“

“How did you know my cousins teased me? I never said that.”

Tarrlok’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake.

 _“Got you now, fucker. You’ve been talking to Unalaq,”_ Korra thought with a smirk.

“It was an assumption,” he said casually, though the girl saw through the lie.

Before he could devise some sick skit for them to reenact, though, the lunch bell rang. All thirty campers (excited to get away from the horrifying all-camp activity) sprang up and walked to the dining hall. Tarrlok grabbed Korra’s arm.

“I’m not finished with you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Save it for someone who gives a shit, ponytails,” she said, walking towards her friends with a big grin on her face.

“ _The old Korra is back, bitches.”_

.               .               .

 

“Called it,” Asami said, sitting down at the table.

“Called what?” Korra asked.

“Engineering is what makes me a homosexual. Every single time.”

“And yet you keep coming back for more,” Wu pointed out.

“I can’t help it. I’m just so gay,” Asami laughed.

Mako sat down. He looked up to see everyone staring at him.

“What?” he asked, his brow furrowing.

Korra found his hand and squeezed it under the table, “Are you okay?”

Mako looked like he was about to yell at them, but instead he just let out a big sigh, “Yeah. I think so. Bolin talked to me for a while after the ‘skit’.”

“What happened?” Asami and Wu asked in unison.

“I’ll tell you later,” Korra said.

Kuvira walked up to the group. She had her lunch in her hand, but wasn’t sitting down. She waited patiently while they all looked up at her.

“Umm… can I sit here?” she asked awkwardly.

They all glanced at each other. What was up with Badgermole?

“Yeah, sure. Pull up a seat,” Wu said, raising an eyebrow.

Kuvira sat down with a wince, as though she was going to set off a bomb.

“So… h-how was your day?” she asked cautiously.

“Really?” Asami asked with a frown.

Kuvira looked at her food, “Yeah, that was a stupid question.”

Korra looked over at Wu, who mouthed the words “What’s gotten into her?”

The Water Tribe girl shrugged.

Kuvira looked up with a smile, “Well, this afternoon will be a bit more relaxing. We’re going to have some silent time to reflect and write in our journals. And then after that you have free-time.”

They all nodded, their enthusiasm had vanished from this morning’s activity.

“Can we write outside?” Wu asked.

“I don’t see why not.”

“Can we sit on the dock and write?”

Kuvira pondered this for a moment, “Sure. Let me go talk to Noatak.”

While she was talking to the camp director, Wu turned back to the group, “Okay, what’s her fucking deal today?”

“What do you mean?” Asami asked.

“She probably went through the program, didn’t she?” Mako said, picking at his food. “She knows how god-awful that activity is.”

No one spoke after that.

Kuvira sat down with a grin, “You guys can spend the afternoon on the dock, as long as you write in your journals.”

.               .               .

It was a fantastic change of pace from the morning’s events. They all sprawled out on the dock to write (Wu noticeably staying close to the shore). Kuvira decided to take a nap in the grass by the old shed, not even bothering to glance their way.

Korra opened her journal to the first page. She looked across the lake— completely overwhelmed with writer’s block. She looked back at her friends. The girl had to stifle a laugh when she realized that Asami wasn’t writing— but drawing. Korra scooched closer.

“What’s this one?” she asked, pointing her pencil at the sketch.

The raven-haired engineer looked up, “Oh, um… it’s the Boeing 787.”

“The Dreamliner?”

“Yeah. Future Industries helped design and manufacture the wings.”

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Korra whispered.

Asami’s face turned as pink as strawberry lemonade. She looked down at her drawing with an embarrassed smile.

“Thanks.”

Korra crab-crawled back over to her spot. She had an idea of what she wanted to write about.

_Dear… uh… Journal,_

_Have you ever come across someone, and then BAM! Your heart felt like it was struck with lightning? I think that’s what I’m feeling. Shit._

_Let’s do the math. I met Asami… at the end of day one. So that means it took me three days to become smitten— bullshit. Journal, I think I’m in love with this one._

_I really want to run my hands through her hair. I could spend all day looking at those jade eyes. Fuck, I really want to know what her lipstick tastes like. What if I go through the program never knowing if it’s raspberry or strawberry? Oh shit, what if it’s cherry?_

_I’ve never seen a real fireworks display, but I don’t think I need to. The way her face lights up when she talks about engineering and robotics and design!_

_Oh, spirits, I AM in love._

_Tarrlok told me that I was sent to the North without my input. That I didn’t have a choice. But my parents wouldn’t have sent me there if they could help it. I miss Naga. I wish I could have lived with Kya, or Tenzin and his family. Or even Bumi! I wish my parents hadn’t sent me to the North._

_But…_

_I wouldn’t have met Asami. And Mako. Or Wu. Spirits, even Counselor Badgermole seems like an okay person. None of these people would be my friends if Unalaq hadn’t discovered my relationship with Hopah and sent me here._

_You really can be grateful for the strangest things._

Kuvira checked her watch and told them that they could put their journals away. The counselor then went back to napping by the shore.

The teens decided to cloud-gaze. Korra was lying in-between Mako and Asami. She tried to ignored the way Asami’s hand brushed her elbow as they guessed which shape each cloud was.

“That’s clearly a duck.”

“Wu, you need new glasses,” Mako laughed.

“Shut up, shark-brows. What about that one?”

“I think it looks like the moon,” Korra said.

“That’s because it IS the moon, dipshit.”

“Oh. Sorry, I wasn’t really paying attention.”

It was true. Korra felt like she couldn’t breathe while lying this close to Asami. She needed to go get some air. She sat up.

“I’m going to go get a bathroom. I mean I’m going to the drink,” she said, hastily scrambling off the dock.

“You okay?” Wu asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she nodded.

Korra nearly tripped and fell into the lake stepping over Mako. She told Kuvira where she was headed, who waved her off with a grunt and continued napping. The Water Tribe girl made her way to the bathroom, passing other campers spending their free-time under counselor supervision. Korra pushed the heavy metal door to the outdoor bathroom. There was nobody inside, and the place smelled just as bad as you would expect. She splashed clean, cold water onto her face and stared at herself in the mirror.

_“Just relax, Korra. You’re only here for eight more weeks. That’s, like, no time at all. You can make it. You have a home to return to if you finish the program.”_

“Korra?”

Asami was standing in the doorway. “Are you alright?” she asked with a worried tone.

Korra swallowed her anxiety, “Yeah. Yeah! I’m great! The heat was just getting to me.”

“Really? It’s only like 70° out.”

“Yeah... but I’m Water Tribe! I’m used to the freezing cold, even in the summer.”

Asami chuckled, “All right, you got me there.” She turned to leave.

_“You know what? Fuck it. Fuck Unalaq. Fuck Tarrlok. I_ _do what I want.”_

“Asami, wait.”

The older girl stopped in her tracks, but didn’t face Korra— who grabbed one of her hands.

“I… I need to tell you something,” the younger girl said.

Jade eyes met cerulean ones. Korra’s heart was beating faster than a drum solo.

“What is it?” Asami whispered softly. The look in her eyes told Korra that she knew exactly what was about to happen.

Their faces crept closer and closer.

“I don’t think this camp is helping me become straight,” Korra murmured.

Asami smiled and closed the distance between their lips. It was cherry lipstick.

“Me neither.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp.  
> I didn't mean for Korrasami to happen for a while, but I got too excited with the scene. Sorry I didn't post sooner, I was having some serious writer's block for a few hours.


	6. Baking and Baseball

“Isn’t it funny,” Wu said, as they entered the dining hall, “how Vaatu intended for me to be straight and cis, but anything else and the great spirit ‘works in mysterious ways’.”

“Shush, they might hear you,” Asami said with a giggle.

Korra smirked. Nothing, **_nothing_** Tarrlok and Noatak had to say at breakfast today could make her feel down. She had kissed Asami yesterday! She glanced at the heiress. The older girl showed no signs of their… uh… “activities” from earlier. Asami twirled a loose strand of her hair and casually ate her food while Korra stared at her like a dork.  

It turned out that Noatak’s “guest speaker” last night was an alumnus from a few years ago. The man was dressed in a button-up shirt and khakis, with a beer-belly and slightly balding brown hair, even though he was only twenty-five or so. He went on and on about how the program changed his life— he now had a family and a spouse and lived happily in a white picket fenced house and yada yada. If that was Camp Amon’s idea of motivation, Korra was going to be bored to tears this summer.

 _“Or maybe not. I guess things just got a whole lot more interesting, didn’t they?”_ she thought, looking over at her roommate.

Kuvira sat down and scarfed a piece of bacon, “So what did you write about in your journals yesterday?”

“I wrote about the Earth Kingdom, and how I’m supposed to inherit it someday,” Wu said, checking his nails indifferently.

“I wrote a few poems, but I’m not sharing them,” Mako said shyly.

“I doodled.”

“Ummm, I just wrote a bit of gibberish that will never see the light of day,” Korra said with a blush. She made a mental note to burn her journal later.

Kuvira rubbed her eyes, annoyed at the group. “Please tell me that one of you at least wrote about yesterday’s lesson and your camp experience so far.”

“Nope.”

“Nada.”

“Oh we were supposed to write about the lesson? Shit…”

“I mean, yeah I wrote about the activity, but I then kinda got sidetracked…”

“Sidetracked by what?” Kuvira said, narrowing her eyes.

Korra was looking anywhere but at Asami. “I was thinking about ‘The Spirit World’?”

“Why?”

“Well, you guys teach us that we go to the Fog of Lost Souls when we die right?”

“Yes, if you are a sinner.”

“Well, I was just writing about… uh… maybe some of the nicer parts of ‘The Spirit World’ that I might want to visit.”

Wu and Mako cracked smiles, and Asami had to look anywhere but at Kuvira, who’s brow began to furrow. But instead of pressing the matter, the counselor merely shook her head and continued her breakfast.

“Well,” she said in-between bites, “I hope that today you might decide to write a few paragraphs on Camp Amon and your lessons here.”

It was clearly more of an order than a suggestion.

.               .               .

 

The activity today for the girls was baking, which meant Korra got to watch Asami stumble around a kitchen trying to use utensils she’d never seen before. It was fucking adorable.

“Don’t laugh!” the engineer complained. “I work late at the office and I never have enough time to cook food. I usually eat at restaurant or order food to go.”

“So you’re a professional at eating out?” Korra whispered, out of earshot of other campers and counselors.

Asami blushed as red as her Future Industries hoodie. Embarrassed out of her wits, she accidentally knocked over the bag of flour, causing both of them to be engulfed in a cloud of fine white powder. The two of them were laughing so hard that everyone in the classroom stopped to watch. Kuvira, unaware of the prior conversation, separated them with a chuckle— claiming that they were too distracting to be near each other.

_“Ain’t it the truth, sister.”_

They made cookies while the older counselor (Korra never learned her actual name, but it was probably something like Barbara or Mildred) lectured them on the importance of proper cooking— how they would need to feed and support their hard-working husbands. Korra scoffed and daydreamed.

_“Imagine cooking all day, making a really fancy meal. The front door slams open and some snow accidentally makes its way in. Asami walks through the door— the tip of her nose is bright red from the freezing cold— and she hangs up her coat at the stand. She wraps her arms around me while I cook. We’re laughing and taste-testing and I couldn’t be happier.”_

“Korra, make sure you don’t burn your cookies,” Zhu Li said, snapping the girl out of her trance.

  The Water Tribe lass glanced over at Asami, who gave her a wink and kept listening to the lecture. Korra sighed and sat on top of the counter. It was going to be a long day.

.               .               .

 

“So are we going to The Spirit World tonight?” Wu whispered excitedly.

It was free-time and they were hanging out on the front steps of Cabin 16B. Kuvira was hanging out with some other counselors in the middle of the cabin complex, and as long as the group stayed on the porch they didn’t have to be close to her. Which meant they were out of earshot.

“Yeah, that’d be fun,” Mako said with a smile.

“Perfect, because I have a plan to get us some alcohol,” Wu smirked.

“What did you come up with this time?” Asami asked.

“Yesterday, after dinner, Mako and I were walking back and we saw Tarrlok in his office knocking back a shot. I think he forgot to close the blinds,” Wu said smugly.

“So you think he has a liquor cabinet?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok… Asami, do you know how to pick a lock?” Korra asked curiously.

“Why did you ask me?”

“Oh, I just thought… you’re good with tools and…”

“I know how,” Mako chuckled.

“Wait, really?” Wu asked.

“Yeah, I used to live on the streets and run with a gang. I picked up a few tricks.”

“What time tonight?”

“Same time as before. After counselor lights out at 11:00.”

They joked and laughed until the dinnertime bell. Bolin had made a casserole for tonight’s dinner, and it was absolutely fantastic. 

“So how was they boy’s lesson today?” Kuvira asked.

Mako shrugged, “We played baseball.”

“He was so good,” Wu said in awe. “He hit, like, fifty homeruns.”

Kuvira was too busy eating her dinner to notice Mako blushing.

“Let me know if you _men_ get hungry,” Korra said with a smirk, “Us _women_ made cookies today.”

“Jealous,” Wu said with a frown. “I love baking.”

“I’ll trade you. I’d love to be playing baseball.”

“What are we doing tomorrow, Counselor Badgermole?” Asami asked with feigned interest.

“We’ll be doing some reading of the ‘Book of Vaatu’ with our groups in the morning, and possible some arts and crafts activities. In the afternoon we have some journaling and also camp chores,” Kuvira recited, ignoring the nickname.

“Oh so nothing too strenuous then?” Asami asked.

“Why do you ask?”

_“Because if we get this plan off the ground… some of us are going to be quite hungover in the morning.”_

“I just wanted to know if we were doing anything too… active. I wanted to paint my nails tonight,” Asami said innocently.

Kuvira bought the lie and nodded, “Yeah, you do that.”

They were dismissed from dinner and walked back to the cabins. There was a slight tension in the group— anticipation for tonight’s antics. Korra and Asami pretended to say goodnight to Mako and Wu, and then walked back to their cabin.

No sooner was the door shut that Asami harshly grabbed Korra by the front of her jacket and smashed their mouths together. Not that Korra was complaining. She swiped her tongue in-between Asami’s lips, and the older girl purred. One hand was one Asami’s back while the other may or may not have been squeezing the older girl’s ass.

“Mmm, you’re good at that,” Asami whispered in between kisses.

“Practice makes perfect.”

“Is that so?”

“You’re welcome to find out.”

Asami smirked and lowered her mouth to Korra’s neck. She peppered the Water Tribe girl’s throat with kisses— Korra was struggling to keep quiet. Asami’s teeth grazed a sensitive spot and Korra clutched onto the older girl for support, her legs had all but turned to putty.

Someone could be heard coming up the steps.

_“Oh shit, Zhu Li!”_

Asami must’ve been thinking the same thing, because she instantly pushed Korra away from her— the younger girl tripped and fell onto her bed with the grace of a sumo wrestler. Asami calmly sat down on her bunk and opened a book just in time for the counselor to open the door.

“Good evening ladies, and how are we doing?” Zhu Li asked, adjusting her glasses.

“Spectacular.”

.               .               .

 

“Mako, are you sure you know how to pick a lock?” Korra asked impatiently.

“Shh, I’m trying to concentrate.”

To be fair, the poor boy was working in the dark. They couldn’t risk anyone seeing the light, especially in the office. To make sure that no one was going to catch them, Wu made a “trip to the bathroom” after lights out and confirmed that Tarrlok and Noatak were going to their house on the other side of camp.

“Almost there,” Mako said through gritted teeth.

Asami peeked out into the hallway, “The coast is clear, for now.”

They heard a _KA-CHUNK_. Mako turned the handle to the door, and it pushed open.

“Now let’s hope that he doesn’t have security cameras or an alarm,” Korra muttered.

“Oh shit, I didn’t think of that.”

“Have you seen how low budget this place is? What kind of place has eighties carpet AND hi-tech security cameras? I think we’re in the clear,” Wu whispered.

They spread out and searched through the cabinets.

“Man, Tarrlok has some shitty taste in decoration,” Mako said, looking at the paintings of Vaatu on the wall.

“AH-HAH!” Asami whispered loudly.

The bottom drawer of Tarrlok’s desk was absolutely filled with alcohol. All sizes and shapes of bottles just waiting to be nicked.

“Let’s get two bottles. He won’t notice them missing.”

“Take something cheap, he’ll know if pricey alcohol is AWOL.”

Korra grabbed two bottles of vodka. They were both about ¾ full. The group quietly slithered out of the office, and Mako closed the door.

“So, how about you and I go out on a date sometime, Zhu Li?” a voice said casually from the end of the hallway.

_“FUCK SHIT RAAVA HELP US!”_

“Quiet, Varrick, you might wake someone up!” Kuvira’s voice snapped back.

“Sprint as fast as you fuckin’ can,” Korra muttered.

Four adults rounded the corner, but weren’t bothering to look towards the office. They continued to chatter and bicker— oblivious to the world around them.

The four kids scrambled out of the building quicker than Barry Allen on a good day. The counselors likely didn’t notice them, but that didn’t stop the group from booking it through the forest to “The Spirit World”.

“Stupid Noatak,” Kuvira muttered, opening the office door. “He never bothers to lock up his shit.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray, they did it.
> 
> HAPPY KORRASAMI ANNIVERSARY
> 
> Sidenote: let me know if the chapters are too short. That being said, if I keep them at 2000 words, I can update more frequently. Like, twice a day.


	7. LaFontaine: Rainbow Dinosaur

“Why are you three wearing sunglasses? It’s 10:00 am, and we’re in the shade.”

“Uh…”

“It’s a clear day, Badgermole. The sun’s so fucking bright!”

“Mind your language, Wu,” Kuvira said.

Mako, the only member of the group who didn’t get completely smashed last night, began to read aloud— in the hopes that he would stir Kuvira away from the topic of conversation.

“Excuse me, can I borrow Kuvira for a moment?” Varrick said, walking up to the group.

The other counselor nodded and stood up. “Please continue reading,” she said to the teens.

“Dude, do you have to shout those Vaatu verses?” Asami groaned, when Kuvira was out of earshot.         

“I’m just reading normal volume,” Mako defended. “If you didn’t have so much to drink last night, you wouldn’t be in this state.”

“Never again,” Korra complained.

“Yeah, right. We’ll be back at ‘The Spirit World’ before you know it,” Wu said with a chuckle. “But I do wish I had an ice pack.”

Kuvira sat back down, “Alright, where are we at in the book?”

The whole camp was sitting in the lawn, in their various groups, reading from “The Book of Vaatu”. Tarrlok and Noatak were up on the balcony of the main building, surveying the scene. There was a breeze in the air, carrying the fantastic smell of barbeque ribs from the kitchen.

“Lunch is gonna be so great today,” Wu whispered quietly.

“Ssshhh, not so loud. My ears are going to explode.”

Eventually, Kuvira gave up trying to get them to read and they moved on to arts and crafts. They were allowed to decorate their journals— so long as the boys’ journals looked masculine and the girls’ journals looked feminine.

“Okay… so if I made the power tools pink…” Asami said, staring at the construction paper with a smirk.

“What if I did a poem on the front of my journal? There were plenty of masculine poets. Like that Walt Whitman dude,” Mako thought aloud.

“I hate to break it to you, but many scholars speculate that Walt Whitman was gay,” Wu said with a chuckle.

“Well… damn.”

“Just draws some sports stuff. You’re into sportsball, right?”

Mako glared at him, but proceeded to draw a baseball scene on his journal.

 _“What if I drew Raava? Technically they said Raava was a false religion, but they didn’t say I couldn’t keep believing in her. If I put her on my journal… that’d piss them off,”_ Korra thought.

She grabbed the light blue construction paper and a navy blue sharpie. Korra only had an idea of what Raava looked like from memory, but she was a pretty good artist all the same. Just a few more touches, a few quotes from “The Book of Raava”, and BAM! Her journal looked amazing.

“What do you think?” she asked the others, holding up the newly improved journal.

“Wow, that's fantastic!” Asami said, with a sparkle in her eyes.

 Kuvira walked up to their table. She picked up Korra’s journal and the corners of her mouth turned slightly upwards.

“You do know how to press Camp Amon’s buttons, I’ll give you that,” she said. There was something in her eyes, almost as if she was… proud.

She set the journal back down and looked at the others.

“Wu… what on Earth?”

“Technically, a dinosaur is masculine. And a rainbow is feminine (which is really stupid, because it’s literally a fact of the weather).”

“Where are you going with thi— “

 Okay, but if you combine the two, you get a neutral gender. So think of it as a non-binary journal!” Wu said energetically.

“Name it LaFontaine,” Asami snickered.

“Good idea,” Wu said.

“You expect me to let you have a rainbow dinosaur on your journal at a camp whose sole purpose is to cure you of your homosexuality?”

“Yeah.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Really? Wow, I didn’t expect that to work.”

“If Tarrlok or Noatak sees that, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Kuvira walked away muttering something along the lines of “they don’t pay me enough for this shit.”

.               .               .

 

Swimming made everything better. It was free-time, and once again the group was at the dock. It was hot out today, somewhere around 90°. For Korra, that felt like hell— so she dived into the Lake without even taking off her pink Camp Amon t-shirt. She was startled when one of the boys’ cannon-balled into the spot right next to her.

“Mako!” she shrieked.

“Polo!” he said, shaking the water out of his hair and laughing.

Wu even joined in this time, building himself a bed to sun-tan on out of noodles (which the other’s had fun tugging around). Korra felt someone grab her hand for half a second. She looked to her right to see Asami blow her a quick kiss. Thankfully, no one was watching— not because it wasn’t allowed at camp, but because Korra turned as red as a strawberry.

_“If only Unalaq knew that by sending me to this horrible place, he made me meet the most terrific girl in the world.”_

Kuvira walked onto the dock, “Wu, I’m surprised to see you in the Lake.”

He shrugged and adjusted his sunglasses with a smirk, “Life’s too short not to try new things.”

“Indeed.” Kuvira sat down and took her Keens off. She stuck her toes in the water, lazily swimming her feet back and forth. “You four sure love it here.”

“It’s peaceful,” Mako said.

“Yeah. I only wish the water was colder,” Korra said with a frown. “Us Water Tribe people go diving in glacier water— even in the winter.”

Asami splashed her playfully. “LOOK OUT WE’VE GOT A BADASS OVER HERE!” she shouted.

Okay. That’s it. All out water war. Korra pushed a small wave towards her roommate and soon Mako had joined in. Kuvira cheered from the dock.

“Ah! Watch the noodles!” Wu screamed.

The other three, wrapped up in the excitement, jumped on top of him and down he went.

“That does it!” he yelled. He began to splash as much water as he could and soon the war escalated to Korra and Mako against Asami and Wu.

By the end of it, everyone was thoroughly soaked. They hopped out and walked to the cabins to get dry changes of clothes— their laughter rang throughout the complex. Kuvira stopped to chat with Varrick and Zhu Li while the four friends retreated to their cabins.

Korra and Asami stumbled into their summer home, dripping Lake water all over the dusty wooden floor. Overwhelmed by all of the excitement, Korra cupped both of Asami’s cheeks and kissed her.

“You are the coolest girl I have ever met,” she said when they separated, happier than she had ever been in her life.

“You’re pretty amazing yourself.”

.               .               .

“I just realized something,” Wu said, swirling his clam chowder around.

“What?”

“We’ve been here a whole week, and I’m still gay.”

The whole group laughed, except for Kuvira— who just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“It takes at least nine weeks, Wu.”

“Really? Because I’ve been coming here for three years. Still gay.”

“You just can’t get enough of Noatak,” Mako scolded.

“It’s true.”

Kuvira looked absolutely done with the group. She rubbed her eyes and went to go get a refill of root-beer.

“This is her first year on staff… but I think we’re slowly convincing Kuvira to make it her last,” Asami said with a chuckle.

They listened to Noatak’s regular recount the day’s events, but didn’t bother to actually pay attention to what he was saying. After dinner, they said their goodnights and walked back to the cabin. The group wouldn’t be going to The Spirit World tonight.

Asami and Korra calmly walked up the steps and began getting ready for bed. There was a peaceful quiet in the air.

Zhu Li did her usual inspection of the cabin and said her goodnight to them. Asami set her alarm for 6:00 like usual.

“Hey Korra?” she whispered. The lights were turned off and the Camp was silent, save for the counselors getting ready for bed.

“Yeah?”

“Are we girlfriends?”

“I think so.”

“I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”

“I… I don’t think I really have either.”

“Okay.”

A few moments passed. Korra could practically hear Asami thinking.

“I’ve never had friends before,” the older girl whispered.

“Yeah, same.”

“We’re… we’re _also_ friends, right?”

“I think we’re best friends.”

“Okay. I like that. I like you.”

“I like you too.”

**_End of Part One_ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. 
> 
> Stay tuned, bitches.


	8. Shut Up and Dance with Me

There was something going on between Asami and Korra— Mako was sure of that much. They glanced at each other the way… well, you know. Once in a while one of them would say something and the other would turn red. And Mako saw them holding hands under the table at breakfast when he went to get a refill of orange juice. It was really cute, actually. That they cared about each other enough to risk everything? That was really admirable.

If it weren’t for Wu and Korra and Asami, Mako would have broken out. He would have been MIA. But… they made this place a little less horrible and a little more bearable each day. He’d had friends before, sure, but the more time he spent with the group— the more he realized what “friends” really were.

 “Today’s lesson is focused on growing up in a house without traditional gender roles,” Noatak said from the stage. “Remember to bring your journal to take notes.”

Mako’s grip on his journal increased. That was his only outlet— a safe place where he could write poetry and no one judged him. The others thought that all Mako liked to do was sports, but that wasn’t true. He really liked writing. No— he really loved poems.

There wasn’t any sort of library at Camp Amon, and when the counselors first went through all of Mako’s stuff they took away all of his poetry books— claiming that it was too feminine. Fuck them.

“Hey, are you okay?” Wu asked softly.

Mako snapped back into reality and nodded his head, “Yeah.”

 Wu raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press the matter.

“Are we in the classroom today, Badgermole?” Korra asked with a piece of bacon in her mouth.

“We’ll all be on the lawn. It’s another all-camp activity.”

“And here I was thinking today was actually going to be decent,” Asami said with a scowl.

Mako stood up, “I’m going to get some more pancakes.”

He weaved his way through the tables and walked into the kitchen. Bolin was flipping a new batch of fresh hotcakes.

“Hey there, Mako. What can I do for you?” he asked.

Mako squeezed past two kitchen staff and held up his plate, “I’m just grabbing a refill.”

“A man’s not a man without his pancakes!” Bolin chuckled.

He slapped three pancakes onto the plate, but before Mako could walk out Bolin tapped his hand twice.

_How are you doing?_

Mako gave him a small smile.

_I’m doing okay._

Bolin squeezed his shoulder.

_I love you._

Mako nodded.

_I love you too, bro._

He walked back to the main dining area and sat down with a weight off of his chest.

.               .               .

 

“That’s silly. My mom was the co-founder of Future Industries, and she was straight. Owning a business doesn’t make you gay!” Asami frowned. “Talk about making shit up as you go along!”

“It’s a combination of things, Asami,” Noatak explained patiently. “Your father didn’t control you, and you had free roam of the workshop. Incorrect gender roles will confuse the mind— weakening it and allowing for the homosexual spirit to wander in.”

The group chose to sit together this time, in Noatak’s group, rather than put up with Tarrlok any more than they already had to. More for Mako and Korra’s sake than anything else. The teens all nervously picked and pulled at the grass while Noatak and Asami had their debate.

Where Tarrlok was authoritative and fearful, Noatak’s words dripped with venomous honey. He was trying to be the good cop— the persuasive cop.

“I dress in female attire. I wear make-up. I attend parties in dresses,” Asami retorted. “I’m feminine.”

“Yes, we’ve discussed that. But you won’t see the picture unless you combine _all_ the pieces of the puzzle. You’re expected to stay at home and cook while your husband ‘brings home the bacon’.”

“Okay, fine. Who takes over Future Industries after my dad retires?”

“How about selling the company? You wouldn’t have to work— why you and your husband would be the richest couple in all of Republic City!”

“My Mom and Dad raised that company from _nothing_ , you pathetic little— “

“Asami,” Korra interrupted softly, “just drop it.”

The heiress stood up and walked away with her arms folded, she would need time to calm down.

_“Okay there is definitely something going on between them. But man… Noatak is a dickbag. He’s infinitely better than Tarrlok, but still.”_

“Alright… well… let’s continue on with After School Activities and Sports! Which extra-curricular programs are suitable for which gender?”

“Mako plays baseball and he’s gay!” Asami shouted from the steps of Cabin 3A.

_“Oh boy.”_

.               .               .

The water at the Lake was cold, but calming. Especially with all of the hot tempers the group had from that stupid activity earlier. Mako lazily swirled his right hand around while staring at the sky.

“What’s your favorite song?” Wu said, to no one in particular.

“’Kids’ by Coyote,” Asami said. Her eyes were closed and she was spread eagle on the dock.

She had calmed down after the activity, shooting daggers at the Camp Directors with her eyes all throughout lunch. Mako didn’t blame her— those guys were so wishy-washy with their explanations. Mako was getting sick of it.

“Ummm… I’d have to go with ‘This is War’ by Thirty Seconds to Mars,” Korra answered.

“What about you, Mako?”

He smiled.

_Tahno and Mako were dancing in the attic. The stereo was turned up all the way and the two boys were jumping on the couch. Toza was out getting groceries, and Mako was having the time of his life. The boys were holding hands and laughing as they danced their way around the room— energetically lip-syncing the lyrics and not giving a care for the rest of the world. The entire universe didn’t matter— just that room. It was Mako’s favorite memory._

“I’d have to go with ‘Shut Up and Dance with Me’ by Walk the Moon.”

“Good choice,” Wu said with a wink. “That was, like, the anthem of last summer.”

_“He knows. Somehow. I’m sure of it.”_

Mako leaned back onto Korra’s lap and stared up at the atmosphere. She fiddled with his hair and he smiled. He liked having best friends. He could get used to it.

“Favorite movie?” Wu asked the group.

Asami scratched her head in thought, “Star Wars, it’s my favorite series—“

“I HAVEN’T SEEN FORCE AWAKENS— DON’T YOU DARE!!” Korra shrieked, starling poor Mako so much that he jumped three inches in the air.

“Is everything all right over there?” Kuvira called from the shore.

“Yeah, Mom, everything’s great!” Wu called back.

They couldn’t stop laughing.

“That’s…. ok Korra… what’s your favorite… movie,” Wu wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Ummm… I refuse to watch anything by M. Night Shyamalan after he ruined that one movie… I guess I don’t have any favorites.”

“What about you Wu?”

“Tangled. Best soundtrack. Best Disney movie. Mako?”

_It was Saturday night in December. They were sitting on the couch, holding hands under a blanket. It was snowing outside. Bolin was cooking a pizza in the oven and Toza was busy in his office. They were none the wiser. Every so often Mako would sneak a glance at Tahno, who would always catch him staring and smile. There was a soda being shared between the two of them. The famous “All I Want for Christmas is You” scene was playing._

“Love Actually.”

“Really? You don’t seem like a cheesy Christmas movie kinda guy,” Asami commented.

Mako shrugged, “I’m a lot of different things. Readable isn’t really one of them.”

.               .               .

The boy felt bad about sitting in-between Korra and Asami during dinner, but he really wanted to see if his theory was true. Sure enough, Korra was grumpy during the whole meal and Asami had this cute little pout on her face— like a little kid who just got told that she couldn’t have any ice cream.

“Hey, Kuvira,” Wu said when the counselor sat down with her plate.

“Hmm?”

“We were discussing our favorite songs and it got me wondering, are radios allowed?”

Kuvira pondered this for a few minutes, “Like the AM/FM kind?”

“No, I want to order an air strike against this hellhole— yeah the music kind!”

“Yeah, I think you’re allowed a radio, but Noatak has to approve the channel.”

Wu looked… deflated. Like a sad balloon.

“I’ll see what I can do about getting a radio.”

“Thanks, Badgermole.”

Asami took a bite of her Salisbury, “So what’s on the schedule for tomorrow?”

“Eh, I think it’s just kind of a lazy day. We’ll be doing chores and doing journal writing in the morning. And then in the afternoon we have evaluations.”

“Evaluations?” Korra asked.

“Yeah,” Kuvira nodded. “We want to see where you’re at with your homosexual rehabilitation.”

“Oh great, more Tarrlok time.”

“Actually, it’s a group activity— between the four of us.”

“Oh sweet Raava, thank you.”

“And then you talk to Tarrlok individually.”

“Dammit.”

“On the bright side, our evaluations are going to be short, right? I mean, I think we all can agree we’re still pretty darn gay,” Wu pointed out.

Kuvira sighed and tuned them out to finish her dinner.

“Yeah,” Korra said with a smirk. “Go big or go homo.”

.               .               .

 

“Ok, who was your first kiss?” Wu asked, taking a drink from the bottle.

They were at The Spirit World. This time, Korra and Asami were sitting next to each other. They weren’t holding hands, but Mako could tell that they were more than happy on the floor like that. Wu seemed to be none the wiser; he was busy drunkenly painting Asami’s nails (he was actually really good at it— even smashed).

“A boy at a carnival, but I didn’t know his name. He offered to pay for my ticket if I’d go on the Ferris Wheel and all the other cute baby rides. It was actually a cute date,” Korra answered.

“Oh, I am so jealous,” Wu said with a sigh.

“What about you then?”

“Hun took me out for coffee one day. It was in the eighth grade, and I was going through my ‘straight phase’. I had no idea what he was trying to do until he took me to a park and kissed me behind a tree.”

“That’s so romantic!” Korra said sweetly.

“Yeah. We were boyfriends for two years. Best time of my high school life.”

“So far.”

“Yeah… so far.”

Mako looked out through the window at the woods surrounding The Spirit World.

_“Hey did you lock up the shed already? I have some gear I need to put away.”_

_“Don’t worry, bro. I have the keys right here.”_

_“Umm, can you help me? I can’t really carry the keys.”_

_“Yeah, sure!”_

_They walked over to the concrete shed where Toza kept all of the baseball equipment. Mako unlocked the metal door and they walked in. He helped Tahno store the bag of baseballs on the top shelf, and all of the other miscellaneous gear. As soon as they finished putting things away, Mako realized just how **little** space there was in-between the two boys._

_“Uh… sorry,” he said sheepishly. He made to exit the door but was blocked by Tahno._

_“Wait up.”_

_“What?”_

_Tahno kissed him. No, Tahno was **kissing** him. Right here, in his foster Dad’s equipment shed! Mako’s head was spinning. I mean, yeah, he didn’t really notice girls like the rest of his friends… but did that make him gay? He wasn’t sure. Kissing the other boy felt kinda nice, though. It felt pretty natural._

Mako snapped back to reality, where he friends were looking patiently at him for his story.

“I got my first kiss in a dusty old shed filled with cobwebs and sports equipment,” he said with a smile.

Wu sighed and drunkenly blew on Asami’s nails, “And they say romance is dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoop, sorry it took so long to update-- I slept in after going to see a movie last night.
> 
> Alternating POV? Alternating POV.
> 
> Love,  
> Ziraseal


	9. I'm Not Scared

_“A glimpse through an interstice caught,_

_Of a crowd of workmen and drivers in a bar-room around the stove late of a winter night, and I unremark’d seated in a corner,”_

Mako looked at the photo. It was the only photo of Tahno he could bring— because it wasn’t just of him. Republic City High School’s champion baseball team stared back at him. All of the people he thought were his friends. And there, in the middle, was Tahno smiling as wide as the ocean.

_“Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand,”_

Mako flipped the photo over. On the back was Tahno’s signature. He traced the indent the pen had caused when his boyfriend had signed the photo, following a series of loops and quick jagged moves.

_“A long while amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oath and smutty jest,_

_There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word.”_

Tahno had a great signature.

.               .               .

 

Breakfast was biscuits and gravy, and boy did Bolin deliver.

“I think the only reason I would even _consider_ coming back to this Raava forsaken place is for your friend’s cooking,” Korra said, shoveling a mouthful of food into her face.

“Goodness fucking gracious, woman, where are your manners?” Wu asked in wonder.

Kuvira flicked him on the head.

They finished breakfast and Badgermole led them to an empty classroom.

“So today we’re going to do group evaluations of our progress at Camp Amon,” she said.

“Oh boy.”

“We’re going to go around in a circle and talk about our feelings about camp. I know you all are a group of jokesters, but this is a very serious conversation,” Kuvira said solemnly. “Korra how about you go first.”

“Uh, what do you want me to say?”

“Anything. Whatever comes to mind. We’re here in a safe environment to talk about your feelings. Nothing leaves this room, and I’m not writing any of this down. This is just a time to talk and reflect.”

“Uh… okay. Well… I suppose I’m kind of happy here.”

“Really? And what makes you say that?”

“I wasn’t really happy up in the Northern Water Tribe. I guess I was lying to myself when I first came here. I thought it would suck balls.”

“Hey!”

“Wu, don’t interrupt. Korra, continue speaking.”

“Well… um… I guess some of the activities… I mean, I don’t really _want_ to be straight. I’m okay with who I am. I’m here because my Uncle is making me be here… so…

“I am happy with the friendships I’ve made. They mean a lot to me, and I know I’m going to have a lot of good memories here. I like the environment— the trees and the sky and the lake. I’m not used to this much green. It’s kind of amazing. I think it’s a good change of pace for me.”

“Korra of the Southern Water Tribe. Athlete. Lesbian. Hallmark Card.”

“Wu, stop that.”

“I’m just sayin’.”

“Asami, how about you? What are your feelings on this?”

“I’m away from my power tools and I’m forced to wear a t-shirt. Like, who’s in charge of fashion around here?”

“Okay, remember what I said about a sincere conversation?”

“I _am_ being serious. I like to wear fashionable clothes and be feminine. Pink is girly, but red is _woman_. Like, I’m genuinely going to be a CEO someday, why am I wearing a t-shirt.”

“Wu, why don’t you go next?” Kuvira asked, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes.

“Pass.”

“You can’t just— oh whatever. Mako, your thoughts on Camp?”

_“What do you want to do today?”_

_“Mmm… can we just lay in your bed and make out?”_

_“Okay, that sounds cool.”_

“Um… I think I like some of the people. I really like the food. The scenery’s cool too.”

“Do you have… more than that?”

“I like the journaling. I’ve never really done that before. It’s peaceful and relaxing.”

Kuvira sighed and let them hang out in the classroom until lunch. Mako didn’t know what her deal was, but it was apparent that she was getting fed up with the group. He felt guilty. She was just doing her job, right?

“Spirit World tonight?” Wu whispered to the group.

Mako shook his head— he wasn’t feeling well. “You guys can go. I think I’m going to get some extra sleep tonight,” he muttered back.

Korra raised an eye at him, but he simply shook her off.

_“My parents aren’t home this weekend,” he said in-between kisses._

_“What are you trying to say?”_

_“Mako, add two and two. I’m inviting you over to spend the night.”_

_Tahno kissed the base of the other boy’s neck. Mako felt like he was on fire. It felt good. It felt really good._

_“So… like a sleepover?”_

_Tahno laughed, and it was music to Mako’s ears._

_“Sure, pal— like a sleepover.”_

Lunch was enchiladas, and Mako picked at his plate— occasionally eating a bite or two.

“Hungry, aren’t we?” Asami said sarcastically.

“I think there may be a bug going around or something. I’m not feeling well,” he mumbled.

“Well, you just have to do the interview with Tarrlok, and then you can sleep for the rest of the afternoon,” Kuvira said.

Wu passed him a glass of water, which Mako was grateful for.

_“I’ve never… uh…”_

_“You’ve never done anything like this before?”_

_“No.”_

_“We don’t have to.”_

_“No, it’s fine. I’m just…”_

_“You’re nervous.”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“It’s okay. Everybody always says the first time is magical, which is a load of bullshit. It can hurt if you’re not careful.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”_

_“I’m not scared.”_

.               .               .

 

“You’re quieter than the rest of your little gang,” Tarrlok commented, leaning back in his chair.

The group was silently waiting outside for their individual evaluations. Kuvira let Mako go first so that he could get some sleep afterwards.

“Yes, sir.”

“Now, Mr. Mako, what do you feel you are receiving from this camp.”

“I have a few friends, and I think getting outside is really healthy.”

“And what of your spiritual connection to Vaatu?”

“To be honest, sir, it’s kind of a new thing. Republic City isn’t a very spirit-oriented place.”

“That’s alright. Do you… do you like our lessons.”

“I don’t mind them. I… I didn’t really care for the first all-camp activity.”

“That’s understandable. You don’t have to _like_ the truth, Mako, but you do have to accept it. And the truth was that you were holding in your emotions and letting them make your soul weak. This lowered your defenses and allowed for the invasion of the homosexual spirit. And the longer you harbor that dark spirit of same sex attraction, the more difficult it is to remove the spirit— and protect your soul from eternal damnation.”

_Overall, it hadn’t been a bad experience. Tahno was very caring and made sure Mako felt comfortable the whole time. The way they kissed. The way they touched. It was like nothing he had ever done before._

“Yes sir.”

“You are certainly calmer than the others.”

“I was raised to be respectful and honest, sir.”

“Yes… Bolin is a friend of yours from outside of camp, is he not?”

“Y-yes sir.”

“And what is your ‘relationship’ with him?”

“No sir, it’s not like that! We were raised together and—“

“It’s alright Mako. I wouldn’t have hired him if I thought he was… one of them.”

“Yes sir.”

_“Hey Bolin,” Mako asked— sitting on the half step that divided the living room and the kitchen._

_“Yeah, what’s up?”_

_“Um… would you be okay if I told you that I had a boyfriend?”_

“Mako, of all the members of your little… group, would you consider yourself an ‘active participant’ in our program at Camp Amon. You participate in the lessons, and from what Kuvira has told me— you’re the first member of the group to volunteer for readings. It sounds like you have an actual interest in our teachings.”

“I suppose.”

“So then… what I am concluding is that you actually _want_ to be cured of your homosexuality?”

_Tahno kissed him over and over and over. It felt like heaven. Mako slowly began to shrug the other boy’s coat off as they sat down on the bed. There was a condom wrapper on the nightstand— Mako had been sure to put it there this morning._

_Toza and Bolin were out shopping for an interview outfit for Mako’s older brother. The apartment was absolutely empty except for the two of them. There was an indie/alternative playlist blasting on Mako’s stereo._

_Tahno’s hands ran up and down Mako’s back, his breath was ragged and he was sucking on Tahno’s pulse point— and honestly it was driving **both** of them wild._

_“MAKO! WE’RE HOME!” Bolin’s voice rang out._

_“I got you some new shirts while we were shopping, do you wanna try them on— oh!” Toza said, entering Mako’s bedroom._

_Both of the boys were in just their underwear and undershirts; one on the other’s lap._

_“Dad! It’s not what you think!”_

Mako was crying. He could feel the tears sliding down his face. Tarrlok stood and offered him a handkerchief without saying a word— putting a hand on Mako’s shoulder. The tears were falling at a faster pace, and all the boy wanted to do was go back to his cabin and look at the photograph of the Republic City Turtleducks— and the star pitcher.

“Please sir,” he suddenly begged. “I want to become straight. I have too!”

“Of course, my lad, of course,” Tarrlok said, giving him a sweet smile.

“I just don’t want to be gay anymore. I’m scared.”

“Well, here at Camp Amon we teach you not to be afraid,” Tarrlok said, sitting back down in his office chair. He pushed the Kleenex box towards the boy. “I want you to know, Mako, that my brother and I will do everything in our power to banish the homosexual demon inside of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poem at the beginning was "A Glimpse" by Walt Whitman.
> 
> Oh, Mako. Your story isn't over yet.


	10. Let the Rain Wash Your Sins Away

Only two days had passed in between his confession to Tarrlok, but not much had changed. He didn’t feel very different. He sat and listened to the lesson while Wu filed his nails. He wrote down his feelings about Vaatu and homosexuality in his journal. The food was still good and the counselors’ voices were still boring. But if it would help him become straight, Mako would do it.

“So who can tell me what this is for?” Varrick asked, holding up a tool.

“That’s a power drill,” someone answered. “For, like, making holes?”

“Correct!”

They were in the workshop— reviewing tools after a session of fixing furniture.

“Hey Mako,” Wu whispered. “Do you wanna go to the Spirit World tonight?”

“What? Uh, sure.”

“Great, cause we have to finish off that bottle of vodka in case someone goes out there and finds it.”

Mako gulped. “The Book of Vaatu” had said that drinking was a sin. And Tarrlok said that sinning made your body weak to invasion of the homosexual spirit.

“Uh… okay,” he said.

For lunch they had chili hot dogs. They were messy and beautiful. Mako had a laugh watching elegant Asami trying not to get cheese all over her make-up and Wu, who kept complaining about his nails. But the best part was Korra— who dove right in and made a mess of her face.

“What? Chili cheese dogs are the best thing in the universe!” she defended.

“I’m not kissing you until you wash your face and brush your teeth,” Asami muttered under her breath.

“What was that?” Wu asked, picking a bean off of his lap.

“Nothing,” she said sweetly.

Mako couldn’t help but grin. They were so cute.

 

 _“Close your eyes,” Tahno said with a laugh._  

  _“Why?”_

_“Just close them, silly. Okay, tell me what flavor you think this is.”_

_Tahno fed Mako a… was it cotton candy? Or was it Tuti Fruti? It was taffy, he knew that much._

_“Damn, I can’t figure it out.”_

_“The box says it’s strawberry lemonade.”_

_“What?! No way!”_

 

Mako frowned.

“ _Stop it, dude, you can’t be thinking these things anymore. You need to become straight, remember?”_

It was raining outside, so they had their journaling time under the awning of Cabin 16B; Korra and Asami’s home. The sound of the rain on the metal roofs of the cabins was amazing— combined with the steady stream of water falling from the leaves of the trees, and the sound of water colliding with itself on the lake. It was like a symphony.

Kuvira was sitting on the steps of Cabin 16A and reading, so any conversations the group wanted to have were infinitely riskier. Thus, they all silently wrote in their journal (each of them being careful to devote at least _one_ page to the day’s activities), listening to the rain and sharing body heat.

Mako stared at a blank page. How _did_ he feel about Camp Amon? Well, obviously he hated it here, but it was a necessity, right?

He looked up at the group.

Korra’s knee occasionally bumped against Asami’s. That was a risky fucking move right there, but Kuvira wasn’t really bothering to look at the group. From time to time they would glance up and smile at each other.

 _“I wish I could be as happy as they are,”_ he thought.

Wu had a pencil in his teeth as he tried to sketch Kuvira. Mako looked over at his friend’s journal and had to stifle a laugh.

His drawing of Kuvira was very well done— uh, if Kuvira was a badgermole… in a pink t-shirt. But the shading and gradient were very smooth.

“I didn’t know you liked to draw,” Mako commented.

Wu looked up and blushed, “Yeah… it’s a hobby. I don’t want to do art as a career or anything. I’m more of a choir kid.”

Mako smirked. Of course he was a singer. He couldn’t help but stare at Wu, who continued to draw.

The boy had perfect hair, that stuck out over his forehead in a kinda cute way— like Tahno’s. Wu was awfully handsome. He managed to bypass the camp uniform; technically he had to wear the blue Camp Amon t-shirt, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t wear anything over it. So he had on a green hoodie that worked pretty well with his white skinny jeans and converse.

The girls had followed his example with Asami’s red Future Industries hoodie, and Korra’s Water Tribe jacket.

Mako had elected to wear a long sleeve _underneath_ his blue Camp Amon t-shirt. He didn’t want to jinx it.

But back to Wu.

He was focused on drawing Kuvira, and there was a little crinkle in his nose as he tried to draw a braid on the character in his journal. It was really cute.

_“OH SHIT MAKO NONONONONONONONONONON—“_

“Hey Kuvira, what are we doing tomorrow?” Korra called over her shoulder.

 

_“Mako, is there something you need to tell me?” Toza’s voice was soft._

_“Dad! It’s not what you think!” Mako cried._

_Tahno grabbed his shirt and put his pants on. Toza gave him a nod and Bolin showed him to the door. Mako cursed himself for being so stupid._

_Toza sat down on the bed, “Mako, why didn’t you tell me?”_

_“I thought you would be angry.”_

_“Oh, son.” Toza wrapped his arms around Mako and put his chin on top of the boy’s head. “I’m not mad, I just want you to be happy.”_

 

Kuvria marked the page in her book.

“I think we’re reading out of the book of Vaatu and discussing our future plans— after you’re cured of homosexuality.”

Cured. It was a sickness. Mako had to keep reminding himself of that. He was sick. He looked at the group. They didn’t look ill. They were all perfectly fine with who they were and their sexuality. Asami tapped Korra’s foot with her own; it must’ve been some sort of code-language between the two of them.

“I’ve got to grab something inside, excuse me,” Asami said—  gracefully stepping over each of them and entering the cabin.

“Oh-uh… me too! I need to uh… pencil sharpener!” Korra said hastily, knocking Wu over as she stood up.

_“You horny dorks.”_

.               .               .

 

Wu met up with Mako at 11:18pm, according to the older boy’s watch.

“Where are the others?”

“They didn’t want to come,” Wu said. “They said they wanted to get some sleep tonight.”

 _“Yeah, right. They want to make out where no one will see them,”_ Mako thought.

They stumbled as quietly as they could (practice makes perfect— no one heard them) through the forest as they attempted to find The Spirit World.

“This shack is like Narnia. You can’t find it twice in a row,” Wu grumbled.

“I see it,” Mako pointed.

The two of them pushed the heavy metal door open with all their might.

“Oh, it’s damn cold out.”

“Well let’s have some of that drink, it’ll warm us up.”

Wu unscrewed the cap of the transparent bottle and took a large sip. He let out a little _gasp._

“Strong stuff?” Mako had yet to drink at The Spirit World.

“It’s cheap but it does the trick. Here.”

Mako hesitantly held the bottle and stared at it.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want. I don’t want to peer-pressure you,” Wu said calmly.

 

_Tahno handed him a beer. They were at the beach; or the closest thing Republic City had to a beach. The boys were shirtless and tanning in the summer sun._

_“I’m glad your Dad was okay with us.”_

_Mako toasted him, raising his bottle high._

_“What do you want to do this summer?”_

_“I don’t know. I want us to hang out with our other friends, you know,” Mako said._

_“Maybe I don’t want to share you,” Tahno teased him._

_“Yeah, but I’m friends with Ming and Shaozu too, you know. It would probably be okay with them. You know. The whole **us** thing.”_

_Tahno frowned. He looked out to Yue Bay._

 

Mako took a large drink. The stuff burned his throat. He might as well get all of his sinning over with.

“Woah there… easy, pal,” Wu said with a raised eyebrow.

The boys sat on the dirt floor of the shed, chatting about Camp Amon and having a good laugh at Kuvira’s expense. They kept taking turns drinking from the bottle, until they were good and drunk.

“So then I said to her… so then I said to her, ‘I get enough sleep…’ and then something about teenage angst,” Wu said, his speech slurring.

Mako laughed loudly, “I remember that.”

“You get along with her alright.”

“Well I try to get along with her. But I-I-I think I… I’ll never be ssssstraight at this rate,” he said with a little frown. Wu was looking really handsome right now.

Wu sat up, “Wait, you… you want to be… sssstttrrrraaaaiiiiggggghhhhttt?”

Mako shrugged with a smile.

“Man, remind me to get you drunk more-more-more often,” Wu slurred.

Sometime later Mako checked his watch. It was past three in the morning.

“Come-on,” he said, woozily standing up.

“Aw, I don’t wanna,” Wu whined.

Mako, with all the strength of a Republic City Turtleduck batter, pulled Wu up with one arm, but the momentum was too much for both drunk boys, and they crashed into the wall of the shed. Instead of moving away from each other, they simply stood there— Wu pressed against Mako’s chest.

“Mmmm you’re really handsome Mako, you know that?”

“Maybe I can enter the Ms. Republic City pageant.”

“No,” Wu said, shaking his head, “I’m serious. You’re the best looking guy I’ve eeeeeeeeevvvvvvvveeeeeerrrrrrr met.”

Mako looked at him curiously. They held onto each other to steady themselves as the alcohol messed with their inner balance.

 

_“Okay, so you have a boyfriend?” Bolin asked, poking his head around the kitchen wall._

_“Um… yeah.”_

_“Like the kissing kind?”_

_“What other kind of boyfriend would I have?”_

_Bolin blinked at him and broke into a large smile._

_“WE CAN GO ON DOUBLE DATES. OPAL IS GOING TO BE SO EXCITED!”_

_“You’re not mad?”_

_“Dude, you can bring home a dude or a chick or someone in-between. It doesn’t matter to me. As long as you come home with a smile on your face— that means my job has been done!”_

_“Do you think I should tell Dad?”_

_“Oh, that’s up to you. But he should be cool with it. Maybe you could put a rainbow flag in his stocking?”_

 

Wu pressed his lips against Mako. He tasted horrible— from the vodka. But he smelled like fancy cologne and felt really nice in Mako’s arms.

_“Hang on, Mako. Didn’t you want to be straight a few hours ago— WAIT WHAT THE FUCK!?!”_

Mako pushed Wu away and stumbled through the door gasping for breath like a fish out of water, tears running down his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well you got your Wuko kiss... ALONG WITH A BUCKET FULL OF ANGST
> 
> Love,  
> Me
> 
> P.S. looks like someone's been lying about why he's at camp
> 
> Also, Mako's flashback scenes are totally out of order chronologically. So you have to piece everything together like I'm attempting to.


	11. The Light Switch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Abusive Relationship

_“What? Am I not good enough for you?”_

_“No, I really care about you, Tahno!”_

_“Then why are you getting so many texts from Jin and Zozam?”_

_“Dude they’re on the team and we hang out together! What’s wrong with that?”_

_“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just get jealous.”_

_Mako stayed silent as they walked down the beach. He didn’t speak once while Tahno steered the conversation away from the sensitive topic._

_.               .               ._

_“So… you were out late last night,” Toza observed, putting groceries away._

_Mako opened the fridge and placed the milk on a shelf, “Uh yeah. We went to see a movie.”_

_“Oh, uh, did you have a fun date?”_

_“Yeah, Dad.”_

_Toza chuckled, “Just making sure you’re being responsible and safe. I know I’m not the person you would come talk to about your… ‘boy’ business… but please just make sure you don’t get hurt. If you don’t want to come to me, promise you’ll talk to Bolin?”_

_Mako still barely believed that his foster dad was okay with him being gay. At first it felt like a kick in the chest— he was so surprised that Toza had been okay with it. Now, his Dad was being the protective parent. It felt really good._

_“Yeah, Dad. No worries.”_

_.               .               ._

_“Sup, cock-sucker?” someone whispered._

_He did his best to ignore the jeer as he weaved his way through the school. Lockers slammed on either side of him and couples made out in the corners. Mako hated high school. He kicked a pile of trash out of his way as he fiddled with the combination on his locker._

_“Maybe he’ll go into porn. I hear he’s good with his bat.”_

Just ignore them _, he thought._

_He scribbled in class as the lecture about the 100 Year War went through one ear and out the next. Someone kicked his desk and slid him a note. It was a drawing of him on his knees—_

_Whoever had passed him the note snickered and Mako had to breath slowly to keep his cool. Mako stood up and calmly walked over to the trash can and threw away the note._

_.               .               ._

_The jeers are like a light switch, though._

_.               .               ._

_“Coffee’s on me, babe,” Tahno said, pushing Mako’s wallet away from the register._

_“Such a gentleman.”_

_They walked around the city holding hands. The pier was all but empty as the couple stared out at Yue Bay._

_“So, do you wanna maybe see a movie this weekend?”_

_“I dunno, M. I have a life, you know.”_

_“What? Come on, you don’t like it when I text other people and we’ve only been on one date in a month. We’re on the same fucking sports team, it’s not like we’re a continent apart!”_

_“Mako! You need to fucking chill. You know what? I’m going to go, and let you cool down.”_

_Tahno walked away, leaving Mako with a belly full of coffee— yet feeling emptier than ever._

_.               .               ._

_“T-Tahno?” he called out, opening the front door. His boyfriend had left the apartment unlocked, and Mako knew he had Sundays off from work._

_He weaved his way through the home of Tahno’s family. They must’ve been out getting groceries, but Mako could hear something— it sounded like an action movie or something from Tahno’s bedroom? There was yelling._

_Mako looked down at his bouquet of flowers he had bought for his boyfriend and scowled. He walked up to Tahno’s bedroom and realized that it wasn’t yelling he was hearing. It was grunting._

_Mako kicked the door open and let out a strangled cry._

_Tahno was… naked and sucking— who the hell was that guy?!_

_“WHAT THE FUCK YOU SON OF A BITCH!?” Mako cried out._

_Mako didn’t even bother to stay. He threw the bouquet at the two and ran as fast as years of baseball would allow him. He ran all the way to his home on the other side of the city._

_.               .               ._

_“Mako, open the door. Please!” Bolin shouted, repeatedly banging his fists on the door to Mako’s bedroom._

_“Go away!” his brother half-sobbed, half-screamed. His pillow was ruined from the tears._

_There was a scuffle in the hallway, and Mako thought he heard Opal’s soft voice peacefully tearing Bolin away from the door. There was a soft click as a key unlocked the door._

_“Son, may I come in?”_

_Mako didn’t give an answer, but just sniffled and pushed his face back into the pillow._

_Toza sat on the edge of the bed and tentatively held out a hand, calmly rubbing Mako’s shoulder as the boy continued to cry._

_“Dad, I’m a fucking freak!”_

_“Oh, son. Oh, Mako, you’re not a— who you are is completely normal.”_

_“No, Dad! I know what people think of… faggots… in Republic City! And… I let that… I let Tahno use me like a piece of trash!! It’s not right!”_

_“What that scum did was horrible, but Mako—“_

_“I want to be straight.”_

_“Son, it doesn’t work like that—“_

_“DAD I CAN’T DO THIS!” Mako sobbed into Toza’s shoulder._

_The old man didn’t know what to do. He put an arm on his foster son’s shoulder and hushed him with calming words. As soon as the boy was reduced to sniffles, Mako began to speak again._

_“I don’t want anyone to hurt me like that. Girls… they might be… strange and all… but being with a girl would make everything easier, Dad.”_

_Toza’s old heart felt as though it was twisting and wrenching._

_“There are camps, right, Dad? Where you go and they make you better?”_

_.               .               ._

_Opal, who was never the closest to Mako, had volunteered to drive him to Camp Amon. The website had been vague, as had the brochure. But the boy was sure of this._

_“So, when you get back,” she said with a soft smile, “I was thinking you and Bolin and I could go to the beach. Without your dad. And maybe a few bottles of alcohol?”_

_“What?”_

_“Like a camping trip?”_

_“Um…”_

_“Oh, sorry Mako! I didn’t mean to assume. You wouldn’t be third-wheeling or anything! Shit, sorry I just thought…”_

_“No, that sounds like a lot of fun. Looking forward to it,” he replied, with a scrap of enthusiasm._

_The cheery girl gave him a genuine smile (not that it was a rare sight), and Mako felt a little less nervous as they turned into the parking lot. They were early, it seemed._

_Check-in was absolutely boring. Some loser named Varrick showed him around as the other counselors checked through his luggage. They all seemed to approve of his baseball decorations. Mako hauled his trunk up to the cabin and went to go sit with the other arrivals._

_Someone walked past him and Mako had to do a double take. He let out a gasp._

_“Bolin! What are you doing here?!”_

_“Oh, uh, hey Mako! I got a job here as the cook!”_

_“What! Why?!”_

_“Because… the fresh air is healthy?”_

_“Bullshit.”_

_“Alright, look. I wanted to make sure you would be okay. I’ve heard some stuff about camps like this. One of my co-workers—“_

_“Bolin, I WANT to be here.”_

_“I know, I know. But maybe I want to have a career as a chef, bro! Seems like a good place to start.”_

_Mako rolled his eyes and walked away._

_“Stupid over-protective brother.”_

_.               .               ._

_For some reason, maybe in another life, it felt as though he knew the kids (who were both painfully gay) at the dinner table. He didn’t want to fuck… er… *mess up* his chances with Vaatu and becoming straight. Still, Korra and Wu had a certain… allure. Maybe they could be friends and Mako could still become straight. And maybe they could all live immortally in castles in the sky._

_.               .               ._

“Hey, are you ever going to write in your journal?” Asami said, nudging Mako with her foot.

The boy snapped to attention and realized he had been staring across the lake for a good hour— daydreaming. Or day… nightmare-ing He sighed and looked over at Wu, who avoided eye contact with him as he continued to chat with Korra. Wu flipped his hair and the sun shone on it just right. It looked like caramel. Mako’s heart gave a flutter, and then he shook his head.

_I fucking hate everything. Vaatu fucking dammit. FUCK. FUCK. FUCKSHITDAMMITFUCKFUCKVAATUFUCKING—_

Mako let out the loudest yell of his life and threw the journal as far as his could into the lake. It skipped once and began to sink— long from rescue.

No one, not even Kuvira, made a noise as they all looked at him in fear.

**_End of Part Two_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRYSORRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
> 
> I crashed and burned writing two chapters a day, and then I had some serious writer's block the second half of winter break. I don't know how often I will update, nor how lengthy future chapters will be.
> 
> BUT I WILL FINISH THIS STORY GOD DAMMIT BECAUSE NO ONE IS UPDATING ON THE KORRASAMI TAG AND IM A THIRSTY HO.
> 
> Love,  
> Ziraseal
> 
> *Next POV... Asami Sato*


	12. Otter Pops

“Alright, everyone— we’ve got something big planned for you all tomorrow!” Noatak said, his voice booming through the mess hall.

“Surprise me,” Wu muttered under his breath.

The boys had been in a bad mood all weekend. Not even Kuvira tripping and falling off the dock as she went to comfort Mako (or, as Korra called him, Captain Temper Tantrum) yesterday could cheer them up. It absolutely puzzled Asami.

“First, you’ll be happy to know that wearing the uniform is no longer required. That is to say, you’re still welcome to wear it!”

“Yeah right,” Korra said, rolling her eyes.

“This ties into our big activity tomorrow. Drum roll please!”

Some of the counselors stomped their feet, but most of the campers just unenthusiastically sat there.

“You’re all going out on dates!”

Asami gave a smile. The Date was pretty much the only interesting part of the program.

 _Well, that… and one other thing_ , she thought— stealing a glance at her girlfriend.

                Some of the campers looked happy at this prospect, and the engineer knew why. It was a chance to get out into town and go to a real restaurant. No offense to Bolin, but she missed the feel of eating out. No… wait… not like that…

                She blushed and averted her eyes from Korra.

                Back at the Spirit World last week, when they were talking about first kisses— Asami had been too embarrassed to say anything. Korra had been her first kiss. She was still a virgin, even if her looks deceived. Spirits, though, she wanted to go further someday with Korra. Past the kissing and occasional touches— fuck clothes, honestly.

                “— you will be in segregated classes today, as we discuss proper gender roles on dates!”

                _Yes! Make-up! Please let me out of this girly shit!!! Mama needs some RED!!!_

 

.               .               .

               

                “Okay, so we need to get our hands on some more alcohol, because it’s the only fucking thing that’s keeping me sane right now,” Wu said.

                “Wu, give it a rest.”

                “I’m serious. The Spirit World is fun when you’re dry and all, but I’m so sober that I can actually understand what Tarrlok’s saying. And it’s horrible.”

                “Later, bro,” Korra hissed.

                Kuvira walked over to Cabin 16B and handed them all otter pops.

                “Since it’s so hot out,” she said casually, “they want to make sure nobody overheats.”

                Asami rolled her eyes as Korra and Mako pretended to have a lightsaber battle, the fucking nerds. They were even making the sound effects.

                “Hey, Badgermole, where are we going for our dates? Do we get to pick who we go with?”

                Kuvira nodded, “Actually, that’s something we need to ask. Do you guys care who you’re partnered with?”

                “OOH! OOH! I CALL WU!” Korra said excitedly.

                Asami stifled a smirk. “I guess that leaves you with me,” she said, turning to Mako.

                “Jealous,” Wu whispered under his breath, though only Asami heard him.

                Mako flashed a genuine smile, “Sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun.”

                Kuvira wrote down the pairs on her hand and gave them a wave, “You have another fourty-five minutes of free time. Enjoy.”

                She walked around the corner of the cabin and disappeared from sight.

                “Why did you want to be paired with me so badly?” Wu asked with his eyebrow raised.

                “Because I want to be the taller one,” she flashed with a smirk. “I’m going to have an arm rest all night.”

                “Okay, you wanna fucking go?!”

                “Bring it on, pip squeak.”

 

.               .               .

 

They were sitting in the most uncomfortable position ever, but Korra was too much of a gentlelady to protest. The girls were at the Spirit Word… alone. The boys didn’t feel like tagging along tonight (the tension between them was thicker than lard), so the girls quietly snuck off with… less than honorable intentions. Asami was sitting on Korra’s lap, and they were perched on top of a set of cinder blocks.

                I mean, come on, though. Who wouldn’t want to make out with that hot slice of Southern Water Tribe! DAMN!

                Korra’s nails raked down Asami’s back as she carefully bit and sucked on the younger girl’s pulse point. They had to be extremely careful not to leave marks of any sort. They couldn’t risk being caught— and worse… separated.

                Asami jump when she felt a hand on her chest— natural reflexes and all.

                “Oh… oh, shit Asami, I’m so sorry. I should have made sure that was okay, and ohmygoshIamsosorryIdidn’tmeantodothatImeanIdidbutItotallyshouldhaveaskedyouforyourpermissiom—“

                “Korra,” Asami said, catching the younger girl’s chin with her thumb and index finger. She pressed soft (but quick and peppering) kisses on the girl’s cheeks, on her forehead, on her nose, on her closed eyelids, on her eyebrows, on the corners of her mouth, and finally to her lips.

                “I was just startled, that’s all. I… I’ve never really gone that f-far before,” Asami reassured her, though there was a quiver in her voice.

                Korra didn’t answer straight away. She stared at Asami so intently that the engineer had to look away.

                “I will wait, you know. I’m never going to do something you’re not ready for. A-And even if you would never want to have sex… I still want to be with you.”

                Asami looked back up at her.

                “Korra… I want to… I’m just not ready yet. Believe me, I more than care about you, but… can we wait? I don’t want our first time to be in a shack in the woods of Tarrlok and Noatak’s fucked-up—“

                “When this is all over, do you want to go out on a date?”

                “What?”

                “I mean it, a real date. What they announced today got me thinking about us. A fancy restaurant and a night in the city and—“

                Asami kissed her. And again and again.

                “Yes, of course. But…”

                “What?”

                “Kor— we live on opposite sides of the world.”

                It had been on the back of Asami’s mind ever since Korra had asked if they were girlfriends. Fuck, why was the North so god damn far away?!

                “I’ve been thinking about that, Sams. I-I want to ask one of my family friends if I can move in. They’ve got a place— you know Air Temple Island?”

                “Yeah, in Yue Bay?”

                “Yeah, well, I was thinking about asking Tenzin and his family. The Air Nomads were pretty chill with homosexuality throughout history and I’d be closer to you and further from my uncle and—“

                “I think you should do it.”

                “Ok.”

                “Korra?”

                “Yeah?”

                “You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

                For once, as her girlfriend smirked and wrapped her arms around Asami, the engineer knew she had said the right thing.

.               .               .

                They straightened out their clothes and made sure that neither of them had hickeys. Asami thought about giving Korra a goodnight kiss, but something inside her stirred and she engulfed her girlfriend in a massive hug.

                “Hey there,” Korra chuckled.

                Asami pressed her face into the Water Tribe girl’s shoulder— as if she would never get to embrace her again. She was buried in the blue hoodie and Korra calmly rubbed her hand up and down Asami’s back. The engineer began to quietly cry.

                “Of all the universes where you and I meet, I’m sorry that it had to be at this pile of shit.”

                Asami didn’t respond, only tightening her grip on Korra further.

                “I’m thinking a really fancy restaurant, and maybe trip to the museum, then we’ll go to the bay and watch the sun set. And then we’ll go to Air Temple Island and sit on the roof and stargaze.”

                “Kwongs.”

                “What?”

                “We can go to Kwongs. It’s really nice Fire Nation cuisine.”

                “Miss Sato, I was under the impression that _I_ was the one taking you out on a date.”

                Asami sniffled and let out a laugh. And then they were both laughing, happy and free. It was the best moment of Asami’s life.

                And then one of the girls stumbled and the moment was ruined.

                “Ow, shit! OW!!” Korra hissed.

                They had fallen, and Korra’s foot had caught in the hole of one of the cinder blocks.

                “Shit, Kor!”

                Asami gingerly pulled her girlfriend’s foot out of the tangle it was in. Korra sucked in a breath of air as Asami straightened out her leg.

                “Oh fuck— shit, Asami, I think my ankle’s twisted,” Korra winced.

                “Fuck. We have to get you help, babe.”

                “Babe?”

                “Roll with it, Kor. We need to find a staff member.”

                “ARE YOU SHITTING ME— DUDE WE’RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS TOGETHER. THEY’LL KNOW WE WEREN’T EXACTLY OUT HERE PICKING FLOWERS!!” Korra exclaimed.

                “Keep your fucking voice down, I’ll think of something.”

                “Sorry, sorry. I just really don’t want to lose what we have together.”

                “I know. So we have to be careful and—“

                “Patient,” Korra grumbled.

                Asami smiled as she slowly helped her girlfriend up, letting Korra’s arm drape around her shoulder. They tried to hop as quietly as they could to the cabins, but it took them over half an hour. The most difficult part was trying to work their way through bushes and around logs. Asami was in awe of Korra, who was trying her hardest to keep it together as she tripped and stumbled her way back to the compound.

                “Alright, we need to set up something so it looks like you tripped on your way to the bathroom. They can’t know where we were.”

                “Yeah right, that’ll never work,” a voice behind them said.

                Asami turned around and looked straight into the eyes of Kuvira.

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited for Asami POV. I got some great stuff planned. I also wanted to introduce a fanfic where Asami isn't completely comfortable with sex, because every Korrasami fanfic I read has Asami having done it with "some chick at boarding school" and idk, I wanted to do something different. Does anyone want a Wu POV? Because I'll only put it in if people like it.
> 
> Also.... caught red handed. Tune in, tomorrow.
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> Z


	13. IT’S THE MIDTERM?!”

You know that feeling when you’re dreaming and you feel like your fall— and then all of a sudden you wake up? Or when the carnival ride suddenly drops? That was Asami’s heart right now.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit._

“Follow me,” Kuvira whispered quietly.

_Now we’ve done it. She’s going to take us to Tarrlok and Noatak and we’re going to fucking die._

Korra’s arm was still over Asami’s shoulder as they hopped behind Kuvira.

“What’s wrong with her?” the counselor asked Asami without looking back.

“She tripped. Her ankle’s twisted.”

Kuvira turned and glared between the two of them with narrowed eyes and then suddenly moved to grab Korra’s other arm and support the Water Tribe girl.

Asami thought that they were heading towards the Brother’s house, but then Kuvira took a sharp turn and they walked up the steps of the main building. Kuvira opened a door to a classroom and they slipped inside. They sat Korra down at a desk.

“Help me get a look at this,” Badgermole whispered to the engineer.

They tentatively pulled Korra’s shoe and sock off. Her right foot was swollen and red.

“Fuck, dude.”

“That’s all you have to say, Kuvira?”

“Shut it, Twinkletoes. I’m going to grab a first aid kit and some ice.”

She left them there. Asami was 100% sure that this wasn’t standard protocol for when Camp Staff caught two members of the same sex together.

Within three minutes, Kuvira had returned.

“Hold this to your ankle,” she said to Korra, passing an ice pack to her.

Kuvira sat down on one of the desks, looking like a teacher. Her hair was down and she looked out of Camp Amon character— wearing jeans and a heavy coat. Huh. You would think she’d be in pajamas.

“Now, do you want to tell me the real story?”

Asami looked at the carpet sheepishly and Korra just stared at her ankle with a blank expression. They were refusing to address the elephant-koi in the room.

“I followed you in the woods, you know. Once you had left the shack. It was pretty fucking clear what you two were up to.”

_She never swears._

Asami glanced up at Kuvira, who’s green eyes had some sort of… softness. But then she leaned forwards with a stern expression. A spike of fear raced through Asami’s heart.

“Look, guys. Do you understand what rules you’ve broken?”

The two girls nodded without making eye contact— as though they could put out the shit-storm that was about to hit them.

Instead of berating them, Kuvira swatted Korra’s hand (the one holding the ice pack) and let out an exasperated sigh. She knelt down— tightly bandaging up the girl’s ankle. The anxiety was getting to Asami, and she nervously stood there fidgeting with her hoodie.

“Here.”

Kuvira handed Korra some Ibuprofen and a Dixie cup of water. The girl gratefully took the medicine.

“You’re going to want to sleep with that foot elevated. Use a pillow or two.”

“Um… alright.”

“You can’t be seen together _alone_ again. Why don’t you go first, Korra? Coast should be clear.”

Korra blinked and shuffled out of the room.

_What the ever-loving fuck?_

Kuvira peered past the vinyl blinds and watched Korra get safely back to Cabin 16B.

“Count your lucky fucking stars, kid.”

“Uh… thanks?”

“That’s ‘The Spirit World’, isn’t it? That shack in the woods?”

Asami bowed her head. If they were going to go down, she might as well confess. “Yeah.”

“What’s in there?”

“Some empty bottles of vodka and some cinderblocks,” she admitted.

Kuvira smirked. She smirked? She was smirking.

“Don’t go in there for the next few days, alright?”

“What?”

“I need to check that place out, and make sure there’s nothing in there. To be honest, I was expecting Tarrlok and Noatak to come out of there.”

“What’s going on? I don’t understand.”

The counselor walked out of the room, only pausing to say, “Just trust me on this. I’ll let you know when you guys can go back. Goodnight, Sato.”

Asami felt as though her world had been turned upside down. If only she knew.

.               .               .

_“Hey Dad?”_

_“Hey Sweet-Pea. Want to help me test this visual processing board?”_

_“Sure.”_

_“Alright. Stand there and smile. Don’t show your teeth, the camera’s too sensitive for something so bright!”_

_“DAD!” she said, playfully swatting his arm._

_Hiroshi let out a hearty laugh and sat down at the computer._

_“Now, if my programming is bug-free—“_

_“Which it won’t be.”_

_“— this piston will move when the camera recognizes your facial features.”_

_“Why on Earth would you need a piston to move when a camera sees me?”_

_“Think of the possibilities. Robotic reactions that are completely based on visual interaction! Not just recognizing what’s in front of you, but decoding it and analyzing images to make decisions!”_

_“Alright, sounds good.”_

_They played around with the processor for a while until Asami had determined that her father was in a good mood._

_“Hey, um, Dad?”_

_“Hey Sweet-Pea?”_

_“There’s something I need to tell you.”_

_Hiroshi looked up and took off his glasses. He grabbed both of his daughter’s hands and squeezed them._

_“Is everything alright, Asami?”_

_“D-Dad… I’m gay.”_

_Hiroshi sat there for a minute, and then slowly let Asami’s hands go— where they dropped to her sides._

_“What did you say?” he asked through clenched teeth._

_“I-I’m gay, Dad. I like girls.” There was a definite tremble in her voice._

_Suddenly, he violently smashed the computer processor. Days of work tumbled to the floor and Asami winced._

_“Dad!”_

_“Asami, you_ can’t _be gay! We have a name to think of! You’re next in line to take over the company! We have a reputation! Do you think businesses will want to deal with a… with a lesbian?!”_

_“But Dad, I can’t help it!”_

_“GO TO YOUR ROOM!!”_

_Asami ran out of the workshop and through the backyard. She darted through the Estate with tears streaming down her face until she could collapse into her bed. The servants didn’t know how to respond, only heading to the kitchen to make her a warm cup of tea._

_“Oh Yasuko, what am I going to do?” Hiroshi said, back in the shop. He buried his head in his hands._

_.               .               ._

Asami wiped a tear away as she entered the cabin. Korra was sitting upright on the bed, patiently waiting for an answer.

Asami closed the door and sat down next to her girlfriend, wrapping her arms around Korra’s toned stomach as she pressed her face into the younger girl’s neck.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said.

Korra didn’t say anything, only letting out a sigh that vibrated against Asami’s forehead.

.               .               .

_“Welcome to Camp Amon!” a boy said as he skipped over to the young, nervous lass._

_“Um… hi,” she said, tugging at her raven hair._

_The car drove away without even the driver saying goodbye. The green-eyed girl nervously grabbed her luggage and followed the boy (who was nineteen or twenty) as he gave her a tour of the place._

_“Wait, are you even a counselor?”_

_“Naw, I’m a camper. I just look old for my age (it helps me get into the movie theaters). You just looked a little sad standing there, so I decided to give you a fun off-the-books first glance of our lovely Pit of Terror!”_

_The girl looked at him, running a hand through her black hair with a big goofy grin. Maybe her dad was the fool in sending her here._

_They walked around, casually talking about the program and how stupid it was. The boy didn’t seem like the kind of guy who wanted to_ ** ever ** _become straight. They walked up to a porch with a few kids already seated. The girl felt a swell in her heart. She’d never really spent much time with other kids her age._

_“So how did you land here?” one of them asked her._

_“I came out to my Dad, and… he took it rather well— obviously.”_

_They all laughed, and the girl felt her heart skip a few beats._

.               .               .

“Korra?”

“Yeah?”

“Nothing, I just had a bad dream.”

“It’s alright, Sams. Do you want to sleep in my bunk?”

“I don’t know if we should risk it. We _literally_ just got caught.”

Asami was expecting Korra to answer, but instead she heard the other girl get up and shuffle around for a bit. Suddenly she felt someone take her hand from down below.

“What— are you on the floor?”

“I’ll sit here all night if it makes you feel better.”

“Oh my god, you goof. Fine, you know what? Just let me set the alarm so we get up before Zhu Li sees us. Get in.”

Korra let out a snicker of delight as she crawled in and wrapped her muscular arms around Asami.

She didn’t have to worry about anymore bad dreams that night.

.               .               .

“Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Hold on a minute. You two.” He pointed at them with a gaping mouth.

“Yes, Wu.”

“YOU TWO ARE TOGETHER!?” he whispered excitedly.

Both Korra and Asami kicked him under the table as Kuvira sat down.

“And how are we doing this morning?” she asked, pretending that she hadn’t seen the girls prancing around last night.

“Oh. Oh we’re just fucking spectacular,” Wu said with a giggle. “We’re just a mighty fine pot of gold here at Camp Amon. Oh, life is so fucking great Badgermole!”

Kuvira let out a confused laugh and shook her head. “Well, remember we’re going on our dates tonight, so enjoy it, alright?”

“No problemo, buck-a-fucking-roo!”

“What? Nevermind, I don’t want to know.”

“Wait… Badgermole, who’s your date?” Asami asked with a smile.

Kuvira hesitated, “Um, w-we don’t go on dates. Just you. We’ll be supervising to make sure you pass.”

Korra’s eyes widened, “OH MY GOD— IT’S THE MIDTERM?!”

“We’re only a third of the way through, dude.”

“Oh yeah… Raava dammit.”

The morning composed of the counselors readying the groups for dates. Asami had picked out a simple red dress, nothing too skimpy. But deep, down, she knew that it was the perfect fit— as if she was a Jedi using the Force, she could sense Korra staring at her ass while she did her make-up.

Korra had tried to wear a blue button up shirt, but Zhu Li let out a _tsk tsk_ and ruffled through Korra’s suitcase. They were used to the lack of privacy by now.

“Ah-ha! How about this?”

It was a fancy but worn blue blouse (seriously Korra, there’s how many colors in the world?) with white trim. It looked like something you would wear to a gala.

Korra’s eyes widened, “Uh that’s one of my mom’s shirts. I was only supposed to use it for really important occasions. I didn’t mean to pack it, but I kinda brought everything that I owned—“

Asami felt a pang of guilt. How could she live in a mansion the size of a stadium when everything Korra owned could fit into a battered old suitcase? She tugged at her expensive dress and let out a small huff.

“It’ll do for the date,” Zhu Li said casually. “It’s much more feminine.”

“But… that’s only for really special occasions.”

“This _is_ a special occasion!”

Behind the counselor, Asami threw her a supportive look. With that glance from her girlfriend, Korra took a sigh and grabbed the shirt from Zhu Li with a fake smile.

The kids (all forty-something of them) and all of the counselors (fortunately excluding Tarrlok and Noatak) filed into the bus. Varrick turned the engine on and bluntly swerved the old piece of junk out of the compound.

Asami was, as always, glad to have the camp behind her. Even if it was only for a few hours, she could already feel hope returning to her heart.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WTF?!?
> 
> Haha, I'm only joking (partially)-- I know the plot. But still, what's up with Kuvira?!
> 
> Stay tuned you thirsty hoes.
> 
> Love,   
> Ziraseal


	14. Hot and Sour Soup (and Strawberry Lemonade)

They were sitting in one of the five or six restaurants that the Camp had chosen. The counselors were bunched together in the middle of the room having a quiet conversation while four or five pairs of kids were on their dates.

Asami smiled at Mako and took a sip of her Strawberry Lemonade. “So what classes are you taking next semester?”

He leaned back in the booth, “It’s kinda silly.”

“No, come on. Tell me.”

“I want to take a poetry course.”

“You like poetry?”

Mako nodded, “Yeah. I know it’s not _very_ masculine, but I… I just really feel a connection.”

“There are so many writers out there who are masculine, Mako. Steinbeck. Hemmingway. King. They’re all really great authors. You shouldn’t feel pressured to run away from something you love. Don’t let this place tell you what to do.”

There was… a sadness in Mako’s amber eyes.

“So… what looks good?” he asked.

Asami looked at the extravagant menu in front of her. They were at a really, really, REALLY fancy restaurant in the City. Not quite Kwongs, but everything looked pretty damn delicious.

“I was thinking Hot and Sour Soup,” she said with a smile and a flip of her hair. She’d been at this game for three years. She knew what the counselors were looking for.

“Oh… that sounds really good. I think I’m going to have the Yellow Curry. I’m a sucker for that stuff.”

They joked and laughed throughout the meal. Where most of the kids looked to be nervous and shy— Asami felt some connection with Mako and the others. It was effortless. She had a sip of Strawberry Lemonade and leaned forwards.

“How’s your Dad doing? You said that you called him this past weekend… after… you know.”

Mako smiled sadly, “He’s still coaching, but I think the old man is going to go into the professional scene. He was quite the player in the day. What about yours?”

Asami looked out the window with a frown, “I don’t know. We don’t talk much. He’s at board meetings or locked away in his office or working at the assembly line. The only time we really get together is to tinker with prototypes, and that’s kind of a once in a while thing— you know?”

 Mako fiddled with his napkin. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t be. If anything, I just feel pity for him. After my mom died… it felt like he left too.”

The boy— the only one of the group who could really connect with her on something like this— reached across the table and took her hand. Kind amber eyes stared into soft peridot. She squeezed his hand and then moved to wipe a tear away.

As far as dates go, this could have been going worse.

.               .               .

 

_She pushed the iron gate open and walked through. The place was absolutely empty, save for the elderly couple in the corner. They were holding hands and placing flowers on as many graves as they could. Asami smiled._

_‘_ It’s nice to know there’s still some kindness in the world after all, _’ she thought._

_She could’ve walked to the plot blindfolded. Third column, last row. A nice, secluded place where she felt like she could safely have a private conversation._

_She set down the folding chair she had brought with her and opened her SatoThermos. Despite the clear weather, it was absolutely freezing out. The new rush of heat from the can warmed her stiff fingers through the leather mittens._

_“Hey there,” she said with a smile. Not a sad smile, not a defeated smile. But a happy one. One that she had inherited from the woman across from her._

**Yasuko Sato**

**122 AG – 158 AG**

**Loving Mother and Wife. Incredible Engineer and Inventor. Catalyst of the Modern World.**

_Asami had a spoonful of the Hot and Sour soup from the SatoThermos. It was a family recipe— one that she had some great memories making with her mother. So, she brought it everytime she visited— secretly pouring a little on the ground for her mother to taste-test._

_Like the old days._

_“So… I’m going away this summer… it’s a new place… I doubt you’ve heard of it…”_

 

.               .               .

 

It got worse.

Not immediately. No, it was very nice to walk arm-in-arm through the park— counselors sitting on the benches chatting while the kids sat on the grassy hills and had some alone time… together. Mako and Asami tried to identify constellations.

“That one’s Toph Beifong,” Mako said, pointing at a bright cluster to the left.

“She’s still alive, you doofus!” the engineer said, playfully hitting his arm.

“Okay, okay!” he laughed. “It could be Aang— the Air Nation war hero.”

“That sentence is an oxymoron.”

“Yeah…”

Mako’s gaze fell onto Asami, and she pretended to stare at the skies a bit longer before it felt awkward. She met his eyes.

_What’s that look? No, wait. Is he gonna—_

Rough lips— unfamiliar and unfathomable— pressed against hers. It’s not as though he was bad at kissing. Though she remained as still as a statue, the boy kept moving his lips and even swiped his tongue through her mouth at one point. He tasted alright. But it felt off. Because she already had a pair of lips to claim back at camp. Korra’s bright, cheerful face flashed through her mind and brought her spinning back into reality.

_Shit!_

Asami pulled away from him like a startled cat. Only after a few seconds of shock did she realize that her hand was covering her mouth. She pulled it down and cleared her throat— as though she was about to do a school presentation.

“Listen… um… Mako… WHAT THE HELL?” she whispered harshly.

The boy winced, his eyes darting around like a panicking deer on a highway.

“I-I thought that— you were f-flirting at diner and— I’m so sorry I just—“

“Why did you do that?” she uttered, softly this time. “Why did you kiss me?”

Mako let out a dejected sound, halfway between a sob and a sigh. “I… I needed to know,” he said, hanging his head and burying it in his hands.

“Mako, I don’t understand.”

“mm… supposed to be… straight.”

“What did you say? I couldn’t catch that.”

She knew perfectly well what he had said.

“I… I don’t want to be gay, Asami.”

“Why?”

“Because it hurt. It fucking hurt a lot.”

“What happened?” the engineer whispered softly, her voice flowing like a wisp of smoke from a campfire.

“I had a boyfriend. And he… Spirits he was horrible. I spent all this time thinking he was the best thing that ever happened to me—“

“Mako. Were you in an abusive relationship? You don’t have to answer.”

The boy looked up and stared at her. He fidgeted with his scarf, absentmindedly, for a moment— and then nodded his head.

“He w-wouldn’t let me do anything without his permission first, and would barely speak to me… and then one day I went to his house… and I found…

“And the way people treated me in school. My own team— guys I thought were going to be my buddies for the rest of my life… they treated me like total shit. One time, I opened my locker (I didn’t keep it locked back then) and I found real piece of shit in my favorite pair of shoes… is that how I’m supposed to live the rest of my fucking life?”

“It’s not like that everywhere.”

“Does it get better? Does it really fucking—“

Asami wrapped her arms around him, engulfing him in a massive hug. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. He blushed and put a hand on her arm. They sat there, in that awkward embrace, for quite some time before the girl spoke up.

“Mako, as someone who’s spent an inhuman amount of time at this Raava-foresaken ‘camp’, I can tell you that what you’re seeking isn’t here. But… I don’t think that **_you_** know what it is you **_really_** want. What I do know for sure is that there’s a very, very long fucking road to being happy. And it starts with loving yourself.”

“I **_do_** want to be happy, Asami,” he said. In that moment, the big, tall athlete looked like a lost small child.

“Well… I think that you can be who you are… sexually and poetry and all… and still find a lot of joy in life. Maybe your joy will even derive from you being gay. I know mine does.”

“You think so?”

Asami looked across the big grassy hill, where Korra and Wu were sitting there laughing their asses off. Kuvira tried to be chiding but they waved her away with a fit of giggles. The engineer had never seen such a display of pure friendship. She found the baseball player’s hand in the dark and gave it a squeeze.

“I do, Mako. I really do.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Wow. I added in the bit with the graveyard just now. And I have come to the conclusion that Yasuko Sato is one of the most important characters of the show, even though she doesn't appear. She's just such a powerful piece. 
> 
> Also, the piece-of-shit-in-the-favorite-pair-of-shoes story is true. And some people have the nerve to say that Homophobia isn't a real thing anymore. But, you know, waterbending under the bridge.
> 
> This chapter was going to end in a cliffhanger, but got really sad and meaningful instead. I'll make the next chapter funnier, I promise.


	15. Memo to Me

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second? There’s something I need to tell you.”

Asami followed Mako out of the dining hall, where everyone was enjoying dinner. It had been a day since their date… and the other thing.

“What’s up?” she said, leaning against the rotten wooden walls of the main building. Surely this camp got enough revenue to do better. The program cost _thousands_ in entry fees!

“I… uh… well I needed to get this off my chest.”

“What?”

“I’m gay.”

“I’m really happy for you—“

“I’m gay. But I didn’t ** _just_** kiss you because I wanted to think I was straight.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just… I want to make sure your feelings weren’t hurt. I genuinely think you’re pretty and smart and amazingly kind. I think there’s maybe a universe… where we could have been together.”

Asami gave him a big hug. “You are the sweetest man I’ve ever met. And you have killer biceps. But I would’ve still left you for Korra,” she whispered.

“Yeah, her deltoids are out of this world,” Mako laughed. “So you’ll forgive me?”

“Only if you forgive yourself for coming here.”

“But I wouldn’t have met you.”

Asami laughed and punched him in the arm. His words floated around in the back of her head like a beacon of hope.

“I forgive you, Mako.”

 

.               .               .

_This must be what eternal damnation feels like. Everything the counselors were saying was stupid and they were all fucking bigots. That’s the only thought that kept the fifteen year-old sane throughout the summer. She wanted to go home._

_“So have you kissed anyone?” the boy asked her._

_“No.”_

_“Wanna try it?”_

_“No offense, pal, but I’m gay.”_

_“Hah! I know that, you silly goose! You’re not my type either! I meant we could try and set you up with that cute Fire Nation girl!”_

_“No.”_

_“Come on, ppppplllllleeeeeeaaassssseeee?!?”_

_“Fine!”_

_“Yay!” the boy squealed, jumping around on the porch of the cabin. “This is great! I call being your bridesmade!”_

_“Bro! Slow down! I haven’t even kissed her yet!”_

.               .               .

 

“Okay, but out of the four of us, which one is the Fairy Squad Mother?” Wu asked.

“I’ll have what he’s having,” Korra laughed.

“No, no, I’m serious! Which one would be the friend that keeps us from getting into shit or is always the designated?”

“Me,” Kuvira said, setting her tray down and taking a seat.

“Okay, but you’re the adult. It doesn’t count.”

“Aw, Wu… we’re not friends?”

“I mean. You understand the circumstances we live in?”

Kuvira waved him off, but Asami could see the slightest pang of guilt in her eyes.

_Raava fucking dammit, what is her deal?! Who is she? What does she want?!_

“Counselor Badgermole,” Korra said (trying to salvage the conversation), “What’s on the agenda for today?”

Kuvira shrugged, “We’re probably going to do Vaatu readings and journal writings.”

“And here I was thinking it was going to be a good day.”

 

.               .               .

_“Hey Dad! I’m home!”_

_Nobody answered as she and Hua walked through the entryway— carrying her suitcases. She’d just finished the program and had arrived to the Sato Estate. Maybe he’s in his office._

_“Hey Tumi, where’s my father?”_

_The servant walked over to the staircase, “He’s on a business trip, miss. He won’t be back for another week.”_

He didn’t even want to say hello?

_She walked up to her room and took the suitcase from Hua._

_“I can unpack, don’t worry about it. Do you want to let everyone else know that they can have the night off?”_

_“Certainly, miss.”_

_Asami sighed and sat down on the king-sized mattress. Camp Amon had sucked ass. They kept talking about how her mother’s death was the cause of her homosexuality. She was going to have a fight with her Dad, she just knew it. She would never go back to that hellhole._

.               .               .

 

“I never get tired of kissing you,” Korra murmured, shifting her weight so that she was straddling Asami.

“Well don’t fucking stop!” the older girl whispered with a laugh.

Korra gave her a smirk and darted quick kisses all over Asami’s face. She giggled and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. She pulled their bodies closer together and reveled in the feeling of being so connected with another human being. She roamed her hands all over Korra— and even with clothes on it felt like they were crossing some new territory.

Asami traced her fingers over scars and burns. She kissed each and every one of them, causing her girlfriend to shiver.

“Sams…”

The engineer kissed her way up Korra’s neck and bit down. The Water Tribe girl let out a hissing gasp, sucking in air whenever Asami nipped at a sensitive spot.

“Give me a hickey,” the younger girl commanded.

“You sure? It’s not a pencil mark, it won’t erase before breakfast tomorrow.”

“Sato, you’re driving me fucking crazy. Just bite my Raava-damned neck.”

Asami dropped lower, to the base of Korra’s neck and worked her magic. She licked and bit and sucked at the girl’s collarbone, leaving little pretty purple marks that would surely arouse suspicion.

And arouse other things, clearly.

“Oh! You’re so fucking good at that!” Korra gasped. Her eyes were tightly shut as she reveled in the sensation.

The older girl smiled into the bite. Her hands slid down Korra’s back and found their way to her ass— where she gave a possessive squeeze. Their mouths managed to meet and Korra let out a moan as she pulled on Asami’s hair.

_Memo to me:_

_Grab Korra’s butt more often._

They continued on, being the horny teenagers they were, until Asami’s alarm went off and they had two minutes until Zhu Li walked through the door to say goodnight.

But when the door opened, they were equally surprised to see Kuvira.

“Zhu Li’s sick,” she said, turning to shut the door. “So… any contraband I need to know about?” She checked through their luggage and under their bags like usual. Then she glanced up at Korra.

“No?”

“Great. Anything else I should know about?”

“N-no!”

Kuvira stepped up to Korra, staring her down with eyes like a hawk. For a moment it looked really awkward (their faces were six inches apart), and then Kuvira pulled tightly on the drawstrings of Korra’s hoodie. Not enough to choke her or anything, but the younger girl let out a yelp as the hoodie-strings pressed into her neck. Where there were hickies.

“Ow, ow, ow, ow, OW!!”

Kuvira let go and smirked as she turned to walk out of the cabin;

“You guys can go into the Spirit World again. And girls?”

“Y-yes?” they both stammered out.

“Try not to get into too much trouble.”

 

.               .               .

 

Asami stumbled out of the cabin around midnight to go to the bathroom. She passed the office and did a double take. Someone was on the phone— having a really fucking loud conversation. She moved closer.

“Unalaq, I don’t care what your percentage was when we started the program. I think there’s someone on our fucking trail, so we’re going to have to cut our exports by 25%!”

“Tell him that we have another ten grand coming in for shipping expenses.”

“Shut up, Noatak, let me handle this. Yes. Yes sir. Understood.”

Asami snuck her way over to the wall underneath the office window. 

“Yes, of course, Mr. Sato—“

_WHAT THE FUCK?!?_

“— we’ll certainly take you up on that offer.”

There was a hand on Asami’s shoulder. She whipped around to see Kuvira’s eyes boring into hers. The counselor put a finger to her lips and then pointed at the window.

“We’ll be sending you a full write-up of this month’s profits. Yes. Yes, of course. Good evening to you both.”

_What’s fucking going on?_

Kuvira grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and dragged her into the girl’s bathroom.

“How much of that did you hear?” the older woman asked.

“Not that much, I swear!”

“Relax kid. I’m not here to get you in trouble.”

“I… I kind of figured that. What the hell is going on, Kuvira?”

The counselor sighed and ran a hand through her hair, “I don’t fully know yet. But I need you to stay away from those guys, alright? I’m on your side, I promise. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

Asami let out a shaky breath and moved to leave the restroom. Before she pushed out of the door, she turned around.

“Kuvira, why were they on the phone with my dad? And Korra’s uncle?”

“I don’t know, kid. But it’s not going to be pretty.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I'm so dead.
> 
> Kuvira has become my favorite character. I can't wait for her POV. You guys are going to love this.
> 
> -Ziraseal


	16. Harold...

The next day was excruciatingly uneventful. They did arts and crafts. They literally were just fucking around with paper and glitter and uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggggghhhhhh.

“Why would they give ‘rehabilitating’ homosexuals glitter? Don’t they know— that’s where we suck our energy from… **_so that we can take over the world with the GAY AGENDA_**?!” Wu laughed.

Kuvira flicked his forehead, “Just make something pretty.”

“Ow! Okay fine… Can it be _fabulous_?”

“Sure. Whatever.”

_I need to tell the group about what I heard last night. They need to know about who Kuvira really is. Then again… I don’t know anything anymore… I guess I’ll keep it a secret. I don’t want to get anyone in trouble. We all have a lot to lose._

Asami looked over at her girlfriend, who was busy making a paper castle with Mako. Actually, it was really fucking well done. She unintentionally began to analyze it from the viewpoint of an engineer.

“No, no, no,” she said, intervening in their conversation, “That drawbridge will never work. You’re supporting it all wrong.”

“Oh yeah? How so?” her girlfriend asked teasingly.

“You need the pivot point to be lower, otherwise that thing will never move.”

Asami put her arms around Korra to help her guide the paper into the correct place. Spirits, her girlfriend smelled good today. Who knew that Old Spice was such a fantastic scent for girls? She made a mental note to buy Korra some stocking-stuffers.

Kuvira cleared her throat, startling the girls enough to spring apart. She gave them a pointed, knowing look.

Wu nudged Mako in the ribs and gave a wink, “Harold, they’re le—”

“Okay, that does it, we’re going to go to Free Time.”

.               .               .

_The two girls were sitting on a tree branch next to the lawn. They were in sight of the counselors, and the other kids in the group were nearby. Just not close enough to hear what they were saying. The green-eyed girl was sitting next to an older camper, Shao, who had short and tousled jet black hair and amber Fire Nation eyes. As promised, the boy had set them together for their Free Time._

_“So how long have you known…” the younger girl trailed off._

_“That I’m gay? Since I was five!”_

_“Wow! What… how did you—“_

_“I used to really like Han Solo and Princess Leia being together, and it took me maybe a year after I’d finished the original trilogy to realize that I’d rather have it be Leia with **me**. Needless to say, I grew a… knack for looking at girls.”_

_“Wow. So… how did you end up here?”_

_“Oh… well… actually kind of a funny story… you see I’d known that my parents have been homophobic for a long time, but that didn’t stop me from having girlfriends. One day, we were on the bed having a grand old time, and I heard my parents come home from work. Naturally, I did what we lesbians do best. I hid myself and my gal pal in the closet.”_

_“YOU DIDN’T!”_

_“My mom was freaking out, thinking that I’d been kidnapped, until she opened the closet door and we tumbled out.”_

_“You **literally** came out of the closet?!”_

_“Bona-fide Lesbian, through and through.”_

_.               .               ._

They were in the cabin, waiting for the right moment to spring free and meet up with the boys. Asami was nervous that it was going to be a trap— what if Kuvira was trying to catch them all after hours.

_If she really wanted you guys out of the picture, she could have turned you in already. Hell, you told her there were empty bottles of vodka at The Spirit World! That’s practically admitting you want to be thrown out! Which… you… I mean, you do want to get out of here— but you also want to keep your girlfriend. And Kuvira said she was on our side… what does that fucking mean?_

“Hey, are you alright? You look a little on the pissed off side. D-did I forget something? Or do something wrong?” Korra asked, fidgeting with her hands.

_It’s not your fault. I haven’t been the best girlfriend either. Hell, she didn’t kiss Wu on their date! I suppose I should tell her._

Asami turned to face Korra, grabbing her hands and intertwining their fingers.

“Korra…”

“What is it? I swear I’m sorry if I forgot something!”

“Listen… it’s not you… something happened on my date with Mako… he… well he kind of kissed me…”

There was absolute silence. This was it. She was going to dump Asami and they would never speak again. Maybe it would be for the better. Maybe it was their destiny not to be together. How heartbreaking. Perhaps, in time, she could find someone else to make her feel loved, but surely never again would she come across someone who made her feel _so whole_.

Asami looked down at their hands and tried to memorize how warm Korra’s hands were in that moment. Not sweaty or gross, but like a flickering hearth. They felt as though they could bring to life whatever they touched. It seemed silly— but even just a moment’s touch with this girl felt absolutely magical. It’s a shame she would never get to hold her agai—

“Oh… was that all? Okay, I totally thought you were going to break up with me. I feel sorry for you, I bet he’s a shitty kisser.”

Asami slowly looked up. Korra’s face was in a big smile— as if she had won the lottery. Perhaps… perhaps the engineer had been a tad bit over-dramatic in her worries.

“Y-your not mad?”

Korra scoffed and rolled her eyes. “As if he could compete with these babies!” she said, flexing her muscles.

Asami laughed, her heart fluttering like a hummingbird, and she tackled her girlfriend in a polar-bear-dog style hug. They rolled around on the cabin floor— laughing and smiling and feeling _free._ Asami gave her girl a long, slow, romantic kiss— gripping Korra closer as though they were worlds apart when they were merely separated by inches. Smiling into the kiss, the engineer thought of another consolation.

“Hey Korra?”

“Hmm?”

“Happy One-Month Anniversary.”

“Shit, I knew I forgot something!!”

.               .               .

 

_“I know we’ve only been together for a little while… like only four months… but… I think I… no… I **know** … I love you,” the green-eyed girl said— her eyes glued to the ground like cement._

_Her amber-eyed girlfriend… her Shao smiled and kissed her, right then and there. The girl’s melted into each other’s embrace— feeling as though nothing, not even the entire universe in all its glory and beauty, could be better than this moment. They broke apart and Shao rested her forehead on the younger girl’s._

_They stared into each other’s eyes for a minute, smiling and reveling in the concept that— to each other— they were the only people in the world. Their own little world. The younger girl grinned wider, knowing that she would stay here forever if Shao asked._

_“I love you too, Kuvira.”_

.               .               .

 

“Ouch, Raava-dammit watch where you put your feet!”

“Sorry, pal,” Korra said with a big, goofy grin. She’d been giddy all night— no doubt happy that they were celebrating their One-Month Anniversary.

Asami was glad too, just for a slightly different reason. She had been so worried that Korra would flip. But— looking at it in hindsight— there really hadn’t been much to worry about. Mako was gay. Asami was gay. Now if Asami had kissed another _girl_ , well they would have been having an altogether different conversation. But… it was okay… all was well. You know… for now.

_I have to tell them. I have to tell them. I have to tell them. I have to tell them. I have to tell them. I have to—_

“Alright, here we are. Everybody help me with the door,” Mako said.

“What, you can’t handle one little door? What good is all that beefcake—“

“Wu, just shut up and help us move the damn thing.”

They all let out a grunt as they pushed their way through the metal door and tumbled into the room, like a classical, cliché Scooby Doo scene. The kids rolled off one another and flicked on the flashlights.

“Hey, wait a sec… someone’s been in… here…” Mako said, trailing off as he looked at the wall.

The four kids stood up and looked at the back wall with their jaws dropped to the floor. There were chairs and a radio and even some bottles of soda. But what amazed them the most was pinned to the wall with thumbtacks.

“No way,” Wu said in amazement.

_Well I guess the secret’s out of the bag._

There, in all her lesbian glory, was Wu’s Ellen DeGeneres poster— and a sticky note that read:

****

**_I need your help—_ **

**_Counselor Badgermole_ **

****

“Holy fucking shit.”

****

****

**_End of Part Three_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Woo-hoo I've been wanting to write the poster-chapter for a month!
> 
> Tomorrow.... PRINCE WU'S POV!!!
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> Z


	17. Fangirl Meltdown™

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I lied about releasing it tomorrow.... (whoops).

“Wakey-wakey, eggs and homophobia,” Wu said merrily.

He sat down at the table, where everyone was groggily slumped over their breakfast. Unfortunately for the masses, Wu was a morning person.

Last night, Asami had come clean. Something was up with Badgermole, and something even worse was up with this camp. Wu and Korra had voted to ditch camp and run to Republic City. But Asami and Mako had thought it would be a better gambit to stay here and find out what was up.

_Don’t say I didn’t warn your gay asses…_

Kuvira sat down at the table and they all straightened up, as though she was about to reveal the plans to blow up the Death Star.

“My, my, you’re a jumpy bunch today,” she said to the group, a hint of a smile forming.

“We saw the poster,” Mako muttered, careful to make sure none of the other tables could hear in on them.

Kuvira smirked and then nodded, “We have a lot of work to do if we want to find out what’s really going on around here. But I need you all to keep your cool and pretend we’re all still trying to be straight.”

“We?!”

Kuvira gave them a wink, and lifted the hem of her shirt. The name _Shao_ was tattooed on her waist. Wu grinned— Shao was a traditional Fire Nation _girl’s_ name.

“Okay, you just jumped like three levels of awesome,” Korra whispered.

“From Counselor Badgermole to Counselor Badass,” Wu said, nodding in agreement.

“If you guys are in on this, meet me at The Spirit World at 11:00 tonight.”

Mako smirked and took a bite of his toast, “Anyone else have an urge to take these guys down?”

“Yeah,” Korra said with a laugh, “We’re in.”

.               .               .

Wu followed Mako to the kitchen, where everyone was prepping for lunch.

“Hey, Bolin, our counselor sent us to talk to you.”

“What about?” the cook asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Dietary restrictions,” Wu feigned casually.

Bolin shrugged and led them to the fridge, which was essentially the coldest room Wu had ever been in. Cause, you know, palaces had fucking heating for a reason.

“What’s up?”

“There’s a lot of shit about to go down at the camp.”

“I know.”

“And we wanted to warn yo— wait, WHAT?!”

“Mako, Kuvira is Opal’s sister. When she recognized that I was applying here, she recruited me to help her.”

“Help her do what?” Wu asked, his eyes narrowing.

Bolin hesitated, “Look… you know what? Fuck it.

“I’m RCPD, and Mako knows that much. Kuvira was technically Zaofu PD, but got sent here to help out— she knows the layout of the Camp really well. All we know is that there’s something illegal going on here, and it involves a lot of outside factions— Hiroshi Sato and Chief Unalaq.”

Wu turned to Mako, “You KNEW he was a cop, and you didn’t tell us!?”

Mako took a sudden interest in the frozen foods, “I-I thought you were here… you know… to look after me. I didn’t think… I mean I thought you just had an office job at the PD.”

Bolin leapt forwards and squeezed his brother’s shoulders, “I AM here to keep you safe— that was my original intention. But after I read Kuvira’s case file, I knew that there was more than meets the eye to this place. We didn’t know what we were dealing with— but now that you’re in on Police Business… I promise I won’t hide anything from you.”

“Who else is in on this?”

“Varrick and Zhu Li.”

“No way! That dude is a cop!? He couldn’t punch a pillow if he had to!”

“Weapon’s specialist. And Zhu Li is a chemist. Weird couple if you ask me, but if there’s some sort of contraband— we were hoping they could get in on the action and identify what we’re working with. Unfortunately, so far we’ve come up empty handed.”

“What’s the case?” Wu asked.

“There’s a lot of money going to and from this place. Not your usual summer camp profits. We suspected money laundering— so they sent a bunch of us undercover. But none of it is actually ending up in the camp ledgers— which we had to bust into Tarrlok’s office for…”

Wu’s mind instantly took a convenient trip down memory lane— to the time they had stolen alcohol from Tarrlok.

**_“So, how about you and I go out on a date sometime, Zhu Li?”_ **

**_“Quiet, Varrick, you might wake someone up!”_ **

**_“Stupid Noatak. He never bothers to lock up his shit.”_ **

The counselors hadn’t been patrolling the main building! They’d been breaking in!

“…Kuvira managed to find a ledger that showed the missing money’s inflow and outflow… but not what they’re purchasing or selling.”

“So are all the other counselors… you know… evil villains?”

“That depends on your point-of-view, M,” Wu said. “I think they all suck ass.”

Bolin looked a little hurt.

“I mean, you know, the ones who **_want to de-gay us_**.”

The officer shrugged his shoulders. “I have no reason to trust them for personal reasons,” he said, nodding towards Mako, “and no reason to trust them for investigation reasons. Innocent until proven guilty, though.”

“You know the good cop, bad cop cliché?” Wu said with a friendly punch to Mako’s shoulder, “He’s, like, teddy bear cop.”

Mako rolled his eyes, gave his brother a hug, and then walked out of the freezer.

“Hey, uh… Wu, is it?” Bolin asked, scratching his head.

The Prince-to-Be stopped and turned to face the detective.

“The way you look at each other… he really is worth it…”

“What do you mean?” Wu asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean I hope that you treat him better than the last guy. You seem okay.”

“I-I-I need to go.”

Bolin nodded and waved him off, “Yeah. See you around.”

 

.               .               .

 

The officer’s comment sticks around in the back of Wu’s mind like a lollipop to a sweater in the middle of August.

.               .               .

 

They were sitting on the dock, lounging around in the sun. Unlike before, nobody minded that Kuvira had joined them— sitting and laughing while they swapped stories.

It felt weird to have her be… not an antagonist? Friend. Yeah, friend… that’s the word Wu was looking for.

They were far away from any other campers or counselors, and who knows where Noatak and Tarrlok were sulking, so Wu was having a Fangirl Meltdown™ because Korra and Asami were happily holding hands in the sunlight. And Kuvira didn’t seem to care.

“So… you’re not a homophobe?” Wu asked.

Kuvira rolled her eyes, “Kid, I couldn’t give a shit about Vaatu and those guys… believe me when I say that I’m sorry that I had to do all this.”

The kids nodded and Wu let out a breath it had felt he’d been holding in all summer long. They were going to get out of this— just as **_fabulous_** as always.

“You went here as a camper, then?”

Kuvira’s eyes brightened up, “Yeah, sure did. It’s where I met my wife.”

Boom. Irony at its fucking best. Korra and Asami could suck it— all of the boy’s Fangirl Energy™ was stolen by Counselor Badgermole.

“Do you miss her?” Korra asked, admiration in her eyes.

“You have no idea. When I get out, I’m taking a two-week vacation with her.”

“But if you went here as a kid, how did the brothers **_not_** recognize you?”

“Completely different staff back then. Some guy named Yakone ruled the turf, and actually wanted to ‘cure’ kids of their homosexuality. I guess the brother’s inherited it and began doing Raava-knows-what with the money.”

“They seem so sincere though.”

“It’s this thing, Asami, you see… it’s called acting.”

Wu leaned back on Mako’s legs (trying to desperately flirt with him was getting old. He was just going to go for it and hope for the damn best). The older boy tensed up slightly, but then relaxed into the position. Huh.

.               .               .

 

“Okay, José, what’s the plan?” Wu said, plopping himself into one of the folding chairs.

They were all in the Spirit World. It was really,  ** _really_**   fucking weird to have the four kids AND Bolin, Kuvira, Varrick, and Zhu Li all together— in what was essentially the only safe-haven the kids could have to themselves. But if it meant taking those assholes down a notch, Wu would live with it.

“First off, you’re all underage and technically not allowed to help us,” Kuvira began.

“Cool. So what’s the plan?” Asami asked.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Korra butt in. “We’re all like undercover now, right? So we totally need a secret name!”

“Kor—“

“Sgt. Ellen’s Lesbian Hearts Club Badgermoles?” Wu said, casually looking at his nails and frowning. He missed his nail polish.

Kuvira closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, “I hate each and every one of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not going to lie, that last joke had me cracking up for a minute. Ah, but this is the point where you realize I had it all planned out from the beginning 
> 
> #Ihopeyouwerepayingattentiontotheearlierchapters
> 
> Lots of love,  
> Zira
> 
> P.S. Kuvira went to the camp as a kid approx. around ten years ago.


	18. We Deserve That Kind of Happiness

“Gooooood morning Camp Amon!” Noatak said, stepping onto the stage in his cheery demeanor. It was creepier now that they knew something was up. “And how are we doing this morning?”

Campers, who Wu supposed _were actually trying to become straight by now_ , gave small, unenthusiastic cheers from the dining hall seating.

“That’s great to hear! Well, as promised, we have some big news to share with you all! We’re going to the city!”

Wu raised an eyebrow— what on Earth?

“That’s right! Think of this as your reward for being patient and trying so hard at Camp! You’ll allowed to go wherever you want, so long as you have your chaperone/counselor with you!”

“No strip clubs, you guys, I’m a married woman,” Kuvira muttered under her breath.

“…there’s plenty of great sights so see, especially if you’ve never been to the United Republic territory before! Memorial Island, Republic City Zoo, Little Ba Sing Sei— the list goes on!”

“So… wherever we want?” Korra asked, looking towards Kuvira.

She nodded with a smile, “Yeah, and you don’t have to worry about me being a stickler. Just don’t do anything illegal and I won’t rat you out.”

“You are such a fucking cop, it’s not even funny,” Asami said, rolling her eyes.

“Do we have to stay with you the whole day?”

“I’m still legally in charge of you, you know. I kinda have to make sure you don’t get killed by Triads.”

“Are you kidding me? I used to run with those guys!”

Kuvira choked on her orange juice.

“Great job, Mako, you’ve pulled a Wu,” Korra said, thumping the cop on the back.

 

.               .               .

 

They filed off the bus and Noatak had them split into their usual groups. Wu felt like something was off. Wait a minute…

“Where’s Tarrlok? You’d think that if all of his campers were gone, he’d want to supervise them,” he pointed out.

“Maybe he stayed behind to do Raava-knows-what,” Korra muttered.

Kuvira nodded. “We have Bolin and Zhu Li stationed back at camp to check up on everything. If the brothers are going to try something, it’ll likely be today. But there’s nothing we can do about it, so—“

“Try to enjoy the day,” Noatak finished sinisterly.

The group jumped and turned around, but it was too late. Perhaps he had heard what they were talking about… but maybe they would be lucky and he was just checking in with Kuvira. He handed the counselor petty cash for whatever event the group would want to do during their “field trip”. With a sly nod, he walked away.

Asami flipped him off while his back was turned and Korra did her “I’ve got my eye on you” thing (Kuvira rolled her eyes, and Wu was starting to think that she regretted partnering with kids).

“Have a nice day,” he called after them.

“I hate that slimeball,” Badgermole whispered angrily.

“Join the club,” Wu murmured.

 

.               .               .

 

“Where should we go?” Mako asked, looking around at his home-city.

“Let’s go to AirTemple Island!” Asami said energetically.

“Oh my Raava, yes, please, please, please!” Korra asked, tugging on Kuvira’s sleeve.

“What are you like twelve!?”

“On a scale of one to ten,” Asami said, flipping her hair and sauntering towards the ferry dock.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” the boys cheered.

In the end though, Badgermole was more than happy to let them board the ferry— having never seen the place herself. Stepping onto the docks, Korra turned to the group.

“Now I should warn you… there’s some little devils that live here—“

“KORRA KORRA KORRA KORRA KORRA KORRA!!!” several voices chimed— three small torpedoes were headed their way.

Several flashes of orange and yellow flew past Wu and collided into the Water Tribe girl, and even though she was hella strong— the poor girl stumbled with the accelerated force of small children.

“Wemissedyousomuchwhydidn’tyoutellusyouwerecominghereMommyandDaddyaregoingtobesohappytoseeyouomgomgomg!!!” the middle-aged child said.

“KORRA! KORRA! KORRA!” the youngest, a little boy, said as he ran around the dock.

But the oldest clung tightly to Korra, burying her face in the elder’s shoulder— whispering “I missed you” over and over.

“I missed you too, Jinora.”

The others introduced themselves to the siblings and the kids pulled Korra merrily up the steps to the island. The group of teenagers (and Kuvira) trailed behind, allowing the Water Tribe Girl to catch up with her second-family. Korra was laughing and dancing around— and her voice was ringing out like church bells on a Sunday afternoon. The only thing missing was fireworks above their heads, but one glance could tell you that they were in Korra’s eyes right now.

“I haven’t seen this much joy on Korra’s face… ever,” Mako noted.

“I don’t think she had a lot to be joyful for before coming to Camp,” Asami whispered sadly. “None of us really did.”

They walked around the island until they reached the main building, where a couple was sitting— enjoying afternoon tea.

“Korra! What are you— it’s so wonderful to see you!” a tattooed man said, standing up and rushing to embrace her.

Wu assumed the other woman, who joined the embrace, was the man’s wife. They stood there for a long while— giving a hug that spoke thousands of words in a mere moment.

“Tenzin, it’s so great to see you… after all this time. And the kids have grown so much!”

“This is wonderful timing, you’re not going to believe who came to visi—“

“K-Korra?” a voice cried out from the veranda.

“MOM!” the girl screamed.

She ran faster than lightning into her mother’s arms. It was a beautiful moment, really. You couldn’t pry them apart with a crowbar if you tried. They stood as still as statues, merely tightening their grip on each other, so much that for a moment Wu thought they might crush each other to death.

_What was it Korra had said? She hadn’t seen her parents in YEARS…_

“I don’t care what all you guys wanted to do today, this was so fucking worth it,” Asami said, wiping away a tear from her eye.

“I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Kuvira said with a smile.

 

.               .               .

 

Wu watched as another ferry made its way to the dock. He nudged Mako as they observed Kuvira running, no… pretty much flying down to the docks to embrace another woman, roughly her age. Shao. Kuvira had texted her— letting her know they were in the city. Within a mere half-an-hour, Badgermole’s wife had sped from work to the ferry.

The prince knew it was respectful to look away, but he couldn’t help ogling at them— marveling in how happy they were. Just… being there. Together. Today seemed to be a day of reconciliation.

“I want to be happy like that someday,” Wu whispered to Mako, pointing at the spouses. “Everybody here right now is having the time of their lives. I want that too.”

The older boy turned to look at him, and smoothly laced their fingers together. Raava, Wu’s heart was beating faster than a rushin’ racehorse. He felt his face go as pink as strawberry lemonade.

_No way, no fucking way. This is not happening. Today was just a really, really fucking long dream…_

“We deserve that kind of happiness,” Mako said.

“We?”

_Oh my Spirits. Are we going to? Is he going to!?_

Wu glanced up to meet amber eyes— and it felt as though he lungs didn’t have nearly enough air in them. He closed his eyes as Mako cupped the back of his head— his fingers tangled in Wu’s chestnut hair— and pressed their lips together passionately.

This wasn’t two drunk boys— one of them depressed about his camp situation and one of them utterly confused about his sexuality— clumsily stumbling around trying to taste each other in a shack in the woods. This was… real. Christ on a cracker, this was AMAZING!

“Yeah,” Mako said when they finally broke apart, gasping a little for air. “I want to share that happiness with you. If you want us to be together.”

It had been the best kiss of Wu’s life. He looked over at Korra and Asami, who were holding hands and introducing themselves (as girlfriends) to Korra’s mom, Senna. Asami looked over at the boys and gave a knowing, approving wink. Wu looked back at Mako with a goofy smirk on his face.

“I think we can arrange something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FLUFF!!! SO MUCH FLUFF!!! FOR ALL THE SHIPS!!! CAUSE SHIT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN!!! I SHOULD NOT HAVE SAID THAT!!!
> 
> Have a great day, possible update again tonight!!
> 
> Lots of Love,  
> Ziraseal


	19. Don't We?

Because all of the groups had gone to some sort of restaurant (in Squad-16B’s case, Pema and Tenzin’s vegetarian cooking), the camp opted to skip dinner in the dining hall and go straight to bed. Or… Wu’s case… the Spirit World.

Mako gave a wink to Wu as they walked up the steps of their respective cabins. Wu’s cabin mate, some kid named Jun who never said a single word to him, gave him a nod and proceeded to go to sleep. Wu brushed his teeth and pretended to get into his pajamas (the lights were off) and laid down on the top of his bed.

Fortunately for Wu, Jun slept like a rock— which meant that he was out of the cabin within fifteen minutes.

The girls opted to skip for the night. Wu didn’t blame them— the excitement was exhausting, and they probably needed some time together… you know… I shouldn’t have to spell it out. So Wu had a certain someone-someone all to himself.

Sure enough, he silently rounded the corner and found himself face-to-face with Mako.

“Hey there.”

“Hey. Let’s go, before someone spots us.”

They walked through the woods, and Wu remembered Korra’s recollection of Kuvira catching the girls. He smirked, but walked at a quicker pace all the same.

Once they were well within the woods, Mako threaded his fingers through Wu’s. It felt… natural. As though fate had decreed— alright now we’re just getting pathetic.

_I hope Tomo found someone. I guess I wasn’t really fair, was I? Dumping a guy and running off to the other side of the world, only to fall in—_

“Hey, what’s that?”

There were lights on at The Spirit World. Someone was talking, and they could hear people moving stuff around. Instinct took over Mako and he shoved the top of Wu’s head down until they were lying on the forest floor— peeking over a mossy boulder.

“You know how fucking expensive this jacket it? And now it’s covered in—“

“Dude, _can_ it for a sec.”

“Alright! That’s all taken care of, they won’t fucking bother us anymore,” Noatak said merrily.

“You’re taking this too lightly. What if there’s someone else who was working with them?” Tarrlok growled.

_Who are they talking about?_

“I’ve been thinking… some of the kids are acting weird. Sato’s kid and Unalaq’s niece— and those two boys they hang out with. And we found all that new stuff in the shack. The poster and those chairs. I mean, it looks like they’re just sneaking out to get wasted, which I don’t mind… _but if they found_ —“

Wu’s foot slipped back and snapped a bundle of twigs.

_FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK_

“Shut up! Shut up! Someone’s out here!” Tarrlok hissed.

Mako and Wu held their breaths, gripping onto each other for balance as they desperately tried not to make any noise. They could hear Tarrlok coming closer and closer. Thank Raava the both of them were wearing dark clothes.

“I think you’re just being paranoid. It’s probably just a CatOwl. Nasty pests. Come on then, let’s get back to the house, brother,” Noatak said in his creepy-happy tone.

Tarrlok stood there for another few moments before shrugging and following his brother. The boys didn’t move from their spot for another twenty minutes.

“Fuck.”

Wu stretched out and ran his fingers through Mako’s hair, “Hey, it’s going to end up alright. We just… we just need to watch out. And we have to tell the others about this. Tomorrow.”

Mako raised his eyebrow, “Tomorrow?”

The brown-haired boy stood up, brushed himself off, gave Mako a hand up, and then a long kiss, “We were almost caught, but I’m nowhere done with you, Turtleduck.”

 

.               .               .

 

“We have some news,” Korra said grimly.

“Yeah we have something also.”

They were sitting together, pretty much as far away as Kuvira could get away with from the rest of camp. Varrick was also sitting with them, twisting his mustache in concern.

“Last night… someone came to our door to do nightly check. Someone we’ve never seen at the camp. Said that Zhu Li had turned in her two weeks’ notice a while back…” Korra said.

“Bolin wasn’t in the kitchen this morning,” Kuvira said with a frown. “Both of them were supposed to check in with me when we came back last night.”

_Oh shit._

Wu glanced at Mako, who had suddenly gone very pale.

“Um… Kuvira… I think I know what happened to them… or… who’s responsible…”

.               .               .

Wu had made up his mind at dinner. He was done hiding. His aunt had told him that he couldn’t ascend the throne as a homosexual. Fine. He was more than happy to denounce the royal family. He’d made up his mind many years ago… but for the first time in his life he was going to fucking do something about it. Even if… even if it didn’t work with Mako… Wu was going to be gay for the rest of his life. The world was stupid if it thought a fucking summer camp could change that... then Wu wanted no part of it.

_Spirits give me courage._

Wu pulled Kuvira aside after dinner.

“Can I borrow your phone?”

“What?”

“Can. I. Borrow. Your. Phone?

“Kid… you do realize that two of my officers are missing? I need to keep this cell on me at all times in case RCPD needs to contact me, or if they manage to check-in at any time.”

“Thirty seconds of phone time. Please? What are the odds they’ll call within that margin?”

Kuvira let out a huff and handed her iPhone over.

Wu dialed the palace phone from memory— you know, in case he’d ever wander out and get lost in Ba Sing Sei. You’d be surprised how little they notice him there.

“Hello? This is the office of the State. Our hours are between—“

“It’s Prince Wu, and if you hang up, you’re out of a job.”

“Oh… uh… of course, Your Majesty… to whom shall I patch you through?”

“The Queen.”

“The Q— The **_Earth_** Queen?”

“Look, I’m the only other Raava-damned queen who lives in that palace, patch me through to my Great-Aunt Hou-Ting!”

“At once, Your Majesty!”

Kuvira, hanging around for her cellphone, let out a small laugh.

“What is it? Whoever’s calling me at this hour better have a good reason.”

“Hello, Aunt Hou-Ting.”

“Who is this? Wu? This is Wu!? Why are you calling me at eight in the evening?! My two-hour beauty sleep is about to begin!”

“You’ll want to shoot for three hours.”

“What did you just say to me… you… you punk?!”

“Oh… I am so, so sorry— what I meant to say was _fuck you, Your Majesty_.”

And then he pressed the “End Call” button, handing the phone back to a very shocked Kuvira.

 

.               .               .

 

“Come on, why don’t we just confront him about Bolin? He can’t directly lie to Mako, right?”

“Asami, I hate to break it to you, but he’s kind of been lying since… like… the beginning of time,” Korra said, shaking her head.

Kuvira paced around in front of the cabin porch, “We have to do something…”

“I’ve got an idea!” Korra exclaimed.

“Well let’s hear it!”

“We could punch Mako a bunch of times and then pretend he’s sick and—“

“You sound like my Grandma Toph,” Kuvira said, pinching the bridge of her nose. Wu decided that she did that a lot.

“Maybe it’s not the worst idea…” Asami thought aloud.

“No it really is,” Mako interrupted, “It’s the worst idea ever.”

“No… what if we came to Tarrlok with a homesick camper? And we just hand him a sobbing, blubbering mess that wants to talk to his brother.”

“Fine by me,” Korra said. And then she slapped Mako. Really hard.

“OW! What the hell?!”

But there were already tears forming in his eyes. Wuss.

For the next few moments, poor Mako had to endure Asami pinching his arm (where the sleeve could cover it) enough times to make tears stream down his eyes.

“We could have just grabbed a knife and an onion from the kitchen…” Wu trailed off.

“I hate you guys.”

“Whatever, you love us. Now let’s go find us a Bolin.”

They knocked on the door of Tarrlok and Noatak’s house. After a few moments, a tired-looking Tarrlok answered the door… drink in hand.

“Hey… um… Mr. Tarrlok… Mako was having a rough night… he really... you know... _misses home_ … we were wondering if you knew where Bolin was?”

Tarrlok looked unfazed, “He was fired last night.”

Mako played his part perfectly. “Wh-why didn’t he call me?”

“Who knows kid, tough love.”

“Mr. Tarrlok!” Kuvira chided.

“Kuvira, see to it that these children get to bed.” Tarrlok moved to go inside. “I have better things to do.”

“Tarrlok— wait!” Korra called after him.

He stopped short of shutting the door.

“Why was he fired?”

Tarrlok pondered his answer for half a moment, and then narrowed his eyes. “Bad things happen to those who stick their noses **_where they don’t belong_**.”

He then slammed the front door of his house, leaving four stunned kids and a pissed off cop to figure things out for themselves.

_Shit… I think I know where they are…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh.... fuck.
> 
> Lots o Lovin,  
> Z


	20. 9-2-5-6-6-3

“Okay guys. Tonight, Spirit World. Edge of the forest at 11:00. If you’re not there by then, you don’t come with us,” Kuvira whispered to the group.

It was lunchtime, and Wu really wanted to find Bolin. Yeah, the dude was his boyfriend’s brother, but also the new guy sucked at cooking.

“How do you know that they’re in the Spirit World?”

“I don’t. But I’m not going to let those two fuckers sitting smugly over there slip through our fingers again. Varrick is going to stay topside, and if we’re not back within three hours, he’ll call for backup. Police will be here within minutes. That’s if they try to do anything. Or… if we find something we’ll make our way back to a safe spot and call them ourselves.”

“We’re all in?” Korra asked the table.

“Hell yeah.”

Wu thought he saw Noatak whisper to Tarrlok, but shrugged it off.

.               .               .

“Hey, Mako?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you… you know… okay right now?”

His boyfriend let out a huff. They were sitting on the dock, away from the others. Mako splashed his legs in the water in annoyance.

“I just… I feel like I can’t do anything right now. My brother is missing— and I have to patiently wait for him. I want to punch something.”

“That’s rough, buddy. Is there anything I can do to help?”

Mako flopped onto his back and gestured for Wu to join him. There wasn’t anyone watching besides their group… who were all just as gay. The boys laid there, staring at the sky.

“What do we do when we get out?”

“Hmm?”

“Are we… are we still going to be one of them… couple things?”

“I hope so,” Mako said with a smile. “You only get a certain number of kisses per lifetime— and to think I wasted them on you!”

“Hey!”

The boys playfully fought with each other, until Wu felt himself almost roll off the dock.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

Mako pulled him back to the middle of the dock and gave him a kiss.

“Where are you going to live? You told me you’re not going to Ba Sing Sei again?”

“I’ll find a place, city-boy. Everybody wants to host a prince.”

“You’re so full of it.”

“Hey, **_you_** chose to kiss me.”

.               .               .

 

“This is so horror movie,” Wu whispered, caught up in all the excitement. “Which one of us dies first?”

“It’s going to be you if you don’t shut up,” Asami muttered back.

“What’s the matter Sato… scared of the dark?” Wu teased.

“Boo!”

One of the girls gave Wu a push and scared the shit out of him.

“Aaghhh!” Wu screamed. “Korra what the hell?”

He had a smile on his face, though. The Water Tribe girl gave him a sly grin and kept walking, giving him the “I’m watching you” sign as she turned.

“Nobody teases my girlfriend but me.”

“You all are grounded,” Kuvira said with a sigh, and then under her breath she muttered, “Lin had better give me a raise.”

“Aww MOM!!”

They reached the Spirit World and pushed their way inside. The chairs and other things Kuvira had left for them to enjoy had been pushed into the corner. They paced around.

“Hang on.”

“What is it?”

Asami stomped the ground. There was a hollow echo.

“No way…”

“Secret tunnel!! Secret tunnel!!!”

“Korra shut up, let’s try and find the entrance.”

“No need,” Mako said, “There’s a hatch— underneath the pile of cinderblocks.”

“We’ve literally been sitting on an underground entrance for a month!?”

They got to work, moving block by block to the other side of the room, until they found it. A locked trapdoor to whatever basement was down below.

“Great, how do we unlock that without the key?”

Korra answered by picking up one of the cinderblocks and swinging it down on the Cabbage-Corp lock. It shattered.

“Now that’s just shoddy craftsmanship,” Asami commented.

“Good work, now let’s get moving.”

Mako and Kuvira pried the door open and the other three aimed their flashlights. The tunnel was concrete, leading… back towards the camp? It smelled just as awful as you’d expect. Wu wondered if there were any rats down there…

“There must be something down here that can lead us to Bolin and Zhu Li.”

Korra and Asami were gripping each other’s hands, and Wu decided to grab Mako’s. Kuvira walked in front with her light— trying to find the end of the tunnel. It began to slope downwards— steeply.

“Raava, it smells really fucking— ugh I don’t know how much longer I can stand this.”

“Yeah, I don’t think the creeps use FeBreze, Asami.”

They managed to stumble upon a large metal door with a keypad. They tried to move it, but the damn thing wouldn’t bust— locked into place. There were no half-barrel hinges. They needed the combo.

“Wow, they’ve got some swish new digs around here,” Wu whistled.

Kuvira looked at the combination, “Any idea of what it could be?”

“Vatuu?”

Kuvira typed the code into the keypad.

8-2-2-8-8

“Not enough digits.”

“Damn…”

The group let out a collective sigh. They hadn’t come this fucking fair only to be stopped by a Raava-damned door.

“Noatak? Tarrlok?”

6-6-2-8-2-5

8-2-7-7-5-6-5

“Nope.”

“Try combining their names.”

It was too long of a combonation.

They’d hit their dead end, seemingly. Well… shit. Wu looked at Mako, who was pacing around trying to think of a solution. He looked as though he hadn’t slept at all last night. The former prince walked up to him and embraced him— literally giving Mako a shoulder to cry on.

_Damn… Now I wish I’d paid more attention in class—_

“Who was the guy you said used to run the camp? Yakone? Try him,” Korra offered.

9-2-5-6-6-3

The door beeped twice and they heard a _ka-chunk!_ as the door opened. They slipped in as quietly as they could. Kuvira gave the girl a pat on the back.

“Nice going, kid.”

They were in some sort of underground… bunker? Warehouse? Hanger? Who knew. It was a large concrete room filled to the brim with large crates. Vaatu knows what they were filled with. There were also vehicles, which meant there was another way in and out of this underground labyrinth.

 In the middle of the room, with a light shining on them, were the pair of cops— unconscious. It wasn’t looking good.

“Bolin!” Mako screamed.

“Zhu Li!”

“Oh my god… is that blood?”

The group ran to untie them. Their faces were bruised and bloody— as if Noatak and Tarrlok… had… tortured them. As they hastily began fiddling with the tight bonds securing them to the chairs, Zhu Li started mumbling incoherently.

“Get… get out… trap…”

_What the fuck?_

Before they even had time to turn around, all four of the kids let out horrible screams as a large bat swung into the side of Kuvira’s face— effectively knocking her out.

She let out an “UUGH” and slowly slumped to the floor— Korra had caught her.

“You do know how to find your way into trouble, don’t you?”

 

**_End of Part Four_ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's gonna leave a mark.
> 
> Sorry about the short chapter. I promise you'll get another one tonight.
> 
> Lot's of love,  
> Z


	21. M&M

The very first thing Kuvira thought when she woke up was

_Why is Korrasami making out in my cabin?_

The second thing she thought was

_Ow. Ow. Ow. OW. OW! OW!! What the fuck, face?!_

She sat up. And had a look around.

Kuvira, Zhu Li, Bolin, and the kids were in some sort of cell. The kids were grouped together (naturally) by couple. Bolin, who was practically a brother-in-law to her, was laying nearby— down and out for the count. Zhu Li was laying on her other side, looking equally injured.

_Shit, how long was I out?_

Asami, noticing that the cop was awake, scooted over and offered her a water bottle. Instead of immediately drinking it— Kuvira pressed it against her bruised face. She must’ve looked like a Smurf… cause… you know… black and blue? No? Okay.

“What happened?”

“You took a ‘Mongo’ to the face.”

“What?”

Asami pointed at the door to the cell; where a big, burly chump was standing guard. Even though he had earbuds in, he must’ve been able to hear what they were saying— without looking up, he gave them the middle finger and continued watching movies on his iPod.

“Fuck… how long have we been in here?”

“Uh… six hours or so?”

“What!?”

_Varrick should have called Lin for back-up, so where the hell are they?_

“You took a nice beating and had a few z’s for a while. Tarrlok and Noatak pointed firearms at us and forced us to drag you guys into the cell.”

_They held kids… at gunpoint. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, I fucked up._

“What did they say to you?”

“Oh, you know, Tarrlok with the usual Scooby-Doo-villain-shtick. The ‘You kids shouldn’t have been meddling in affairs you don’t know about’ and ‘you’re young and naïve’ kinda speech.”

“He wasn’t lying about the last part.”

“Hey, **_you_** wanted us to help you.”

Kuvira tried to ignore that last bit, but it weighed heavily in her heart. She had made such a big mistake— all for the kicks of finally having some friends. She didn’t deserve to be a cop.

_Look, it’s in the fucking past now. You need to **find a way out of here** , Kuvira._

She studied the cell. It was crude, really. Probably built in case, like the group, someone had decided to snoop where they should have. But… Kuvira was the first cop to investigate Camp Amon— and this was probably the first time they’d put kids in the cell (hopefully). Which meant that if there were any structural problems… they would never have noticed and fixed them before.

She tapped Asami’s hand to get her attention. Fortunately (and also unfortunately), the ground was made of dirt. She began to silently write a message in the Earth— so that “Mongo” wouldn’t notice.

**_Look for weak points in the structure of this cage._ **

She wiped the sentence away.

**_If there’s a way out… we need to find it before they decide_ **

She wiped that one away, too.

**_they don’t want to keep us around anymore._ **

Raava knows she didn’t _want_ to frighten the poor girl… but the reality was impending. They could be killed down here. Regrettably, fear _is_ a good motivator.

Brave, sweet Asami nodded with a determined expression and stood up to examine the cage. If anyone could find a flaw in the structure, the genius engineer could. Mongo (Kuvira sincerely hoped that was his real name, because that would have been hilarious) paused his movie and rattled the cage with… a bloody bat. Must’ve been the one he hit Kuvira with.

“Hey! Just sit down and shut up!” he grunted.

“I just want to get some exercise,” Asami feigned. 

The guard gave her steely eyes for a few moments and then returned to his movie.

“Fine, what do I fucking care? So long as they pay me,” he muttered.

Asami continued to walk around the cell, and Kuvira’s heart began to sink as Asami’s head dropped. The girl looked at Kuvira and shook her head.

Fuck. No way out. At least… not from the inside.

.               .               .

“And how are we doing today?” Noatak said with a sickly smile, “Comfy?”

“Let us out you psychopath!!” Wu shouted.

The Camp Director leaned against the cell door and laughed loudly. His fake demeanor was becoming more and more creepy with every second.

“Now, now, that’s no way to speak to your host! We are showing you some generous hospitality, all things considered! You almost blew our operation! Good thing we rounded up all you Vaatu-damned cops!”

_Wait… do they not know about Varrick?_

A few hours ago, Bolin and Zhu Li had stirred awake. Barely, but still enough to have filled the group in. They’d been discovered poking around the warehouse (having found the other entrance all the way on the other side of camp). Noatak and Tarrlok had interrogated them both violently, but they’d refused to give them information.

“How long are you keeping us here?” Asami asked with narrowed eyes.

“What kind of question is that? We’re going to ransom you off when we have the chance!”

_OH SHIT WHAT OH MY GOD HE’D BETTER BE FUCKING BLUFFING!!!_

“You’re going to what?!” Bolin wheezed. Poor kid was probably suffering heavy injuries.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Allow me to clarify. I’m hosting Water Tribe royalty, the heiress of Future Industries, and the Future King of the Earth Nation. Not to mention three cops…”

“Ok wow,” Mako said, under his breath. “Fucking rude.”

“… do you know how much money that is?!”

“But you’re working with Unalaq and my Father!!”

“Yeah! They’re going to get the United Republic to pay the money! More for all of us!”

“What kind of fucking operation are you running?!” Zhu Li spat.

“I’m glad you asked!”

Noatak threw a small Ziploc bag of what looked like white rock-candy into the cell. Kuvira picked it up and knew what it was with one glance. Methamphetamine. Zhu Li help it up and inspected it.

“This is… this is an impeccable mixture!” she stammered with wide eyes.

“Ah, see, the chemist appreciates our work! The warehouse is chock brim with crates of perfectly refined crystal. We’re making _billions_! And soon we’ll have so much more!!”

“Then why don’t you spend money on Camp Amon? The place has gone to shit!”

“Kid, we don’t give two fucks about Dear Old Dad’s dream of ‘straightening’ the world. Well, maybe I care a little. You all are a bunch of sickos… but the real game is down here!”

Kuvira grabbed the little bag of meth from Zhu Li and threw it at him out of anger. Noatak casually caught it and tossed it to his guard.

“You enjoy that, I have plenty.”

Mongo eyed the bag for a few minutes, and then zipped it in his jacket.

“The Bloodsnow Brothers are going to go down in history as the greatest Drug Lords the world has ever seen!” Noatak laughed.

“Oh my god that’s the dumbest name in the history of… like… ever!” Korra whispered to Mako.

Fortunately, the insane criminal didn’t hear them. The last thing Kuvira wanted to do right now was make him mad. A few silent moments passed as the group processed all the information.

“How does my father fit into this?” Asami asked.

Noatak chuckled, “Who do you think helps us distribute the stock? A group named Red Lotus, hired by Unalaq, helps us make the stuff in facilities all over the world! The North and South Poles are covered by Unalaq— and Hiroshi helps us distribute to Republic City and the other Future Industries offices. Under the table of course. We have agents planted all over the world! In exchange everyone gets part of the cut. It took you stupid feds long enough to even **_suspect_** something was up!”

The man’s alarm clock went off on his phone. He gave a smirk to the group and made to leave.

“Well, my times up. Speaking of the devils, Tarrlok and I have a conference call with the rascals! You’re going to be very excited, we’ll be having a family reunion down here— in a few days of course, what with travel time.”

“My father’s coming… here?”

“Sure thing! Wants to have some time with his little princess!”

“Why— why are you telling us all this?” Korra whispered, at so low a volume that it might as well have been a figment of Kuvira’s imagination.

“What makes you fucking think you will **_ever_** take us down?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha get the title? Mongo and Meth? No? Just me? My dad? Okay.
> 
> Anyways, time for the highly (who am I kidding) anticipated arrival of the Kuvira POV!
> 
> Lots o Lovin,  
> Z


	22. Scream and Run

Kuvira had a lot of things to be grateful for in life. Suyin had discovered how horrible her real parents had been treating her when she was fifteen. Right after her stay at Camp Amon. Su gave her more than she could have ever asked for. A family. A _real_ family— a mom and a dad and so many wonderful siblings. Her Aunt Lin, reluctantly, allowed her to join the RCPD after a few years on the Zaofu Force. Shao. Her beautiful, fantastic wife. A woman she would love eternally. Not a day had passed this summer where Kuvira didn’t sit down on a log and wishfully dream of her— of their wedding and how they fell in love. Of how she would never spend another day more than one-hundred miles away from Shao ever again. Even now… when there was some inevitable outcome involving violence and pain… even now she dreamed of her soulmate. In a dark, damp cell filled with six other people.

But what Kuvira was most grateful for right now… was Bolin’s ability to sustain group morale. They all humored him— no one wanted to face the reality of a kidnapping at the hands of drug lords, and in some cases… kin.

So, they played cards, grudgingly slipped to them by Mongo after Wu and Korra whined for three hours (Kuvira sincerely hoped that they would go into acting— they deserved Golden Globes for this summer… maybe she could get an Emmy for getting them to think she was a straight homophobe).

Who knew what time it was. Mongo had switched shifts with another guard— a ghastly looking woman with the urge to stare at nothing but the wall in front of her all day. Hey, Kuvira didn’t judge. Whatever floats your boat, man.

“Lunch time for the prisoners,” some other lackey said, bringing a box of food up to the cell. The girl, we’ll call her Bob for now, opened the cell door and he tossed the food in.

“There’s not an ounce of balanced nutrition here,” Bolin grumbled.

There was a family-sized bag of potato chips and some of those fun-sized Oreo snack-packs. Two bottles of water. For seven people. If someone didn’t pay their ransom or break them out— Kuvira was worried that they might die of dehydration.

Obviously, kids got a larger portion than the adults. Kuvira had gone through worse in Zaofu— under her old parents’ roof. Bolin had been on the streets. Zhu Li… well… if she was tough enough to not break from torture— she could handle going a little thirsty. The kids took priority.

 _Prisoners_ , the word echoed throughout Kuvira’s head, bouncing around and driving her up the wall. They were fucking _prisoners_.

A few more hours passed and Kuvira kept herself distracted with a game of tic tac toe against Korra.

“Hey! I was going to fucking take that square!”

“It’s a strategy game! It’s the simplest game in the world.”

“I dunno, I’ve heard of this one game called Scream and Run,” Wu said, looking up.

“What do you do?” Asami asked.

“You scream and you run.”

“Astonishing.”

Footsteps could be heard coming closer. The inhabitants of the cell straightened up (figuratively) and gave their attention to the door.

“Good afternoon to you all,” Tarrlok nodded.

“Oh we’re on civilized terms? Wouldn’t have thought that considering _we’re locked in a fucking dungeon!_ ” Wu hissed.

“You know, complaining isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“As opposed to what? Watching you goad the United Republic for every cent they have?” Korra shot back.

“Actually, you’ll be pleased to hear your mother and father are offering us quite a sum of money, girl,” Tarrlok glared. “Apparently the South scrounged up every dollar they had in that pathetic excuse for a city.”

Korra frowned and looked away as tears began to form in her eyes. Asami laid a hand on her arm to comfort her. Kuvira recalled the Southern Water girl mentioning that her family didn’t have a lot of money.

“Just tell us what you want and go away, worm,” Mako grumbled.

“Flattery, Mr. Mako? Doesn’t seem your style. Very well, then. I came to tell you that we’ll be moving you to a new location tomorrow. We don’t want to risk an all-out war with United Republic forces now that they know where you disappeared at. We’d move you sooner, but it’s not like they know there’s a full-scale operation down here. That gives us some breathing room.”

“What about my father?”

“Ah yes… wait just one moment.”

Asami’s eyes widened as Tarrlok disappeared into the shadows. Another few moments passed and he reappeared with a man Kuvira slightly recognized from newspapers.

“Dad!?”

“Hello, Asami. I’m sorry that we have to meet in these conditions, but in order for the UR to pay for your ransom, we have to have a ‘public’ exchange of the prisoners.”

“Fuck you.”

“Asami! I am doing this for Future Industries— and therefore by default for you!”

“Holding me in some cell— letting me rot so that you can earn a few extra bucks? We don’t need money!”

“It’s not about the **_money_** , Asami! We’re making connections and establishing an immortal life for **_our_** business! Your mother’s **_legacy_**!”

“Don’t you dare! Don’t you fucking dare bring my mother into this! She would never have approved of you sending me to a Raava-foresaken homophobic camp, let alone let you poison the company with illegal deals and heists! You dare suggest she would be proud of you!?”

“Asami, my beautiful daughter… please—“

“ENOUGH!!”

Korra, as quick as a flash of lightening, jumped up and threw the deck of cards at Hiroshi. She tried to punch him through the slots of the cell door, managing to bloody his nose with a quick jab.

“ARGGH!”

The CEO fell back against the wall opposite the cell, clutching his face. Kuvira smirked when she saw blood gushing through his hands.

“You’re going to regret that, brat,” Tarrlok said in a low, cold voice. He opened the cell and swiftly marched in, pinning Korra to the wall and pulling a gun to her head. Immediately, the group stood up and started yelling.

“TARRLOK, STOP!”

“SHE DIDN’T MEAN IT!!”

“KORRA!”

“SILENCE!!” the Camp Director roared.

The others, afraid that he might try something if they attempted to jump him, slinked to the corners of the cell. He was nose to nose with the girl, who stared him down into his icy eyes. It was blue versus blue.

Something had clearly snapped in Tarrlok. His hair was disheveled, strands sticking out here and there. There was a layer of grime on his face and the dark-colored bags under his eyes told Kuvira he hadn’t been sleeping since he’d caught the group a few days ago. He was off the deep end.

_Raava… if you’re there… help…_

“You think you’re **_so fucking special!!_** That you could just waltz around like you owned the place? Listen up, you half-baked bitch! I OWN THE WORLD!! I could kill you right now, and who would miss you? Mommy and Daddy? Who were too poor to take you in? Auntie Kya and her nan? How about the air-brats?”

Korra’s eyes widened, but she remained stoic.

Oh, yeah… I read your fucking journal. I know who you call family. I could make damn-fucking-sure that they never see you again. Right here, right now. And then maybe I’ll pay _them_ a visit, too.”

“Leave my family out of this, you son of a—“

“Tarrlok, don’t damage the merchandise,” a calm, venomous voice rang out from the cell door.

Noatak was patiently leaning against the doorway frame— as if he was waiting for his brother to get dressed for school. One of his eyebrows was raised in a questioning expression, perhaps even _he_ thought Tarrlok was going too far.

_I never thought I’d be happy to see that asshole._

Sure enough, the words of his brother seemed to work a wonder on Tarrlok’s temper. He slowly lowered the gun back into a holster at his waist. And then he spat in Korra’s face.

“I hope you’re worth the fucking trouble, dyke.”

He pushed her against the wall hard enough to slam her head against the metal frame. She let out a grunt and slid down when he let go of her hoodie— barely conscious, and in a lot of pain.

“I’ll be back, Asami. This isn’t over,” Hiroshi said with a muffled mouth. Kuvira hoped he would have a nice bruise from the hit.

“You don’t feel love for Mom anymore. You’re just full of greed.”

_Ouch. Little Sato has some serious balls._

The criminals sulked away as Asami rushed over to her girlfriend. She kissed Korra’s forehead as the girl passed out and whispered something along the lines of “I love you.”

Kuvira felt like throwing up. She was going to cut up her police badge herself if they got out.

 _When. When we get out_ , she corrected herself.

“Well…” Wu said, leaning back against the wall, “That **_could_** have gone worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you: *screaming out of fear of the unknown*  
> me: *still screaming but knows what's up*
> 
> Update tomorrow, or maybe I'll just keep typing. Who knows.
> 
> Love,  
> Laesariz


	23. Tasers Aren't Good for Your Health

Dignity. It wasn’t something Kuvira had spent much time thinking about until she had spent… how many days had they been down here? Five. Maybe.

Anyways… dignity. You see, there wasn’t a toilet in the cell. No, they didn’t have a bucket. They were a little more fortunate than that. Ho boy, _that_ would have erased Kuvira’s dignity entirely.

The brothers had some sort of common sense— anatomy knowledge that if a human doesn’t… you know… _go_ … they die. Every day one of their armed thugs would take each member of the group to a little restroom adjacent to the warehouse. One at a time. And they couldn’t look away— because Tarrlok was paranoid that they might… what? Sneak something in? Like toilet paper? Get a grip, ponytails. Thank Raava none of the females were on their cycle right now.

“I can’t wait to wipe my ass without some meth-head looking,” Wu whined.

“Same.”

Kuvira rolled her eyes and smirked. They still had some hope— something the cop found admirable. After Tarrlok’s scare with the gun, she wasn’t too sure they would make it out unscathed. Perhaps… perhaps she could talk some sense into Noatak? Sure the guy was evil… but he was also… not **_as_** crazy as his brother.

“You have a visitor,” Bob mumbled. She stepped to the side and a figure walked up to the cell.

“Fuck, fuck, FUCK!! Which one of you shitheads has a fucking wire?” Hiroshi asked, angrily slamming his fist on the cell door. He had a lovely bruise peeking out from under his mustache.

_Nice going, Korra._

“What on Earth are you talking about?” Zhu Li spat, her eyes narrowing.

“Someone tipped the police off to the underground warehouse… there’s a whole fucking army on our doorstep! And this morning an attack was launched on the Northern Water Tribe, from the inside! Unalaq’s been captured and is being transported to Republic City! **_So which one of you fuckers has a radio_**?!”

_Varrick. Raava bless you, you damn madman!!_

Kuvira began laughing.

“What is your fucking deal, bitch!?” Hiroshi growled, looking at Bob. She shrugged.

The Zaofu-born couldn’t stop cackling, even when Bolin started shaking her shoulder— telling her to cut it out.

But for once… she had hope.

Hiroshi unlocked the cell with a yell and gave her several kicks to the stomach, but she kept laughing, even when she began coughing up blood. Asami tried to pull her father away, but he gave her a swift slap to the face and kept kicking Kuvira. She didn’t mind.

She laughed and cried and laughed and cried. At some point Hiroshi kicked her in the face and exited the cell. He knew there wasn’t a radio in the group. He just needed a punching bag.

“Alright… we’re going to have to move you… but what do we do about the merchandise!? They’ll be here any minute—“

A small rectangle shot out from the darkness and hit Bob square in the chest. She stood there, violently shaking and trying to say something, but ended up slumping to the floor. Half a second after she’d been hit, another rectangle shot into Hiroshi’s chest and he began seizing up. Tasers.

“These models are so shitty, you’d think that they would give us the newer products—“

“Varrick, shut the fuck up and find the keys.”

That voice. Huh. Kuvira knew that voice. But… it couldn’t be…

The door swung open and two cops rushed in— clad in bullet proof armor. Varrick… and… and…

“KUVIRA! OH RAAVA WHAT DID THEY DO TO ALL OF YOU!?” a woman shouted.

Kuvira tried to look up, through the mix of tears and blood in her vision. Someone was kneeling in front of her.

“Hey Shao— nice of you to stop by,” she laughed.

 

.               .               .

 

They removed any keys they could find on the two unconscious bodies. And then they threw them into the cell.

“Mr. Sato, you are the worst father ever,” Bolin growled, slamming the door and locking it.

Kuvira looked at Asami who had a death grip on Korra’s arm (the younger girl was uncomfortable by the vice-grip, but didn’t say anything).

“Alright, we have a plan from the Chief. We need to get you out. That’s it. No sidetracking— no confrontations,” Shao said. She handed Kuvira, Zhu Li, and Bolin a gun each.

“How did you get in?”

“There’s a third way in— an emergency exit in the office that’s located down here. We managed to pry it open last night, but we couldn’t risk sneaking in. There was too much activity in the main warehouse area. And forget about the main entrance— they’re trying to move as much of the meth as they can before they scram. So that’s blocked by dozens of armed thugs.”

“What about the tunnel to and from the shack?” Mako asked.

“Not a chance— Tarrlok and Noatak sealed it off the day after you broke in. The shack is completely destroyed,” Varrick answered.

“I have to purchase a new Ellen DeGeneres poster?”

“Really? That’s what your worried about?” Korra hissed.

They peered past the hallway— coast was clear. Kuvira looked back at the cell door. Asami was standing there, with her hands at her side bunched into fists. She looked… the opposite of defeated. As though the longer she stared at Hiroshi the more determined she was getting.

“Are— are you ready to go, Sato?”

“Yeah… just give me a moment…”

“Sure thing. Just… I know it’s important but don’t take too long,” Kuvira said softly. She knew how harsh— how **_cruel_** parents could be.

“Don’t worry.”

Asami put a hand on the cell door and leaned closer.

“You really are the worst father ever,” she whispered. And the engineer turned and followed the group.

 

.               .               .

 

It was a slow process— extracting the group. First, they had to get out of the warehouse. Without being noticed. Then, they had to sneak off camp property. Again, without being noticed. At least this was a mapped-out operation with five trained cops.  

So they moved in two groups. Wu would go with Varrick, Bolin, and Zhu Li. Kuvira and Shao would go with Mako, Asami, and Korra.

_Oh Raava, this is so fucking dangerous._

Varrick’s group went first. They weaved among the crates and dodged behind vehicles. Fortunately, the warehouse was empty right now— but they couldn’t risk anything.

They made it to the office, and Varrick quietly broke the door open. Group #1 snuck in and pushed their way through the door.

“Varrick, did you make it?” Shao called through her radio.

“Affirmative. We are en route to the escort team.”

 _Thank the Spirits_ , Kuvira thought.

“Alright, let’s go,” Shao whispered to the group.

For once— **_for once_** the kids fucking behaved. They were all too scared to goof off.

They rounded a crate and Kuvira peered past the corner. There were a pair of guards walking towards them. They would have to move fast if they wanted to make it in time.

Shao pushed the kids forward, and they silently sprinted to cover. Kuvira put a hand on the hood of the truck they were hiding behind and checked for the guards. They hadn’t seen either group.

Kuvira let out a small sigh through her nose and stepped around the car.

There was a small pressure pushing down on her forehead as she looked into a sickly shade (she hadn’t thought that possible) of blue. Noatak was pointing a gun between her eyes.

_Well that plan went to shit._

“Going somewhere?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarification: Shao is a cop.
> 
> Next Chapter: everything goes to shit and I completely understand if you hate me
> 
> Lots o Lovin,  
> Z


	24. Looking at a Diamond Statue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter cause I'm a lazy-ass mofo, but the next one's longer than usual.

_SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!!_

Noatak pressed the gun a little further into Kuvira’s forehead for emphasis. He looked tired, too. And he smelled like he’d been going without a shower for a while. They were all breaking under the stress. And he was going to snap soon, too.

“So… want to tell me how you broke out? Ah… you must be Mrs. Zaofu,” he said, nodding at Shao. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

None of them said a thing. It was obvious that they were terrified— waiting to see what he would do.

And then something occurred to Kuvira (thank goodness she was nearsighted).

_The safety’s on._

_Either he’s bluffing or he’s stupid._

_He’s stupid._

With one swift motion, years of training coursing through her veins, she grabbed the gun and pointed at the ceiling. Noatak cried out and pulled the trigger, but of course nothing happened.

_Oh my god, he is **so** stupid._

To be fair, it was a common mistake with someone unfamiliar with a gun. And Noatak had probably spent far more time curing kids of their “sickness” than actually practicing his marksmanship. Kuvira unset the safety and pointed the gun at his forehead. Tit for tat, bitch.

“You wouldn’t.”

“You don’t seem to understand. You threatened me. You threatened children. By extension, you just tried to threaten my wife. I will.”

Noatak’s eyes widened, and in that moment Kuvira knew. She knew that he would choose life over his business. Perhaps there was still a chance.

“You want out. You know the way out. Lower the gun and I’ll let you go.”

“ ** _You_** are not in a position to hold us hostage anymore.”

“He’s not,” Tarrlok said. “But I still am.”

Kuvira walked around Noatak so that she could still have her gun on him. Her eyes widened. Tarrlok was holding onto Asami, and he had a remote in his hand. Even worse, he was strapped to a ton of explosives.

_He’s gone nuts and he’s going to kill us all. At least I got to see my 27 th birthday. It was a good long run. _

“Let’s propose a trade. You give me my brother; I give you the girl. You make a move, and I bring the whole fucking camp to the ground.”

“You wouldn’t! You’re bluffing!” Asami cried, struggling to break from his grip.

Tarrlok laughed. He was off the deep end. “Who do you think designed the explosives, Sato? Can you imagine, Future Industries technology being the very thing that brought your family to extinction?”

“You’re willing to kill a hundred people?!” Mako shouted.

“DON’T! DON’T YOU FUCKING ASK WHAT I’M CAPABLE OF! I CAN END YOU RIGHT NOW AND YOU HAVE THE FUCKING NERVE??”

Kuvira knew that they were going to die. But she wanted to die holding her wife. So she slowly pushed Noatak towards Tarrlok, until he threw Asami aside and grabbed his brother.

Shao reached down and put her hand in Kuvira’s.

“Awww, how sweet. Dying hand in hand? Let me give you an overview. The UR will pay for Sato— both Satos, actually. Oh… wonderful. I see that some of you have escaped. Why did you have to go and make our lives fucking difficult? Ah well, there’s still some profit to be made.

“Now… you’re going to kick over your weapons and raise your hands above your head. You’re going to walk back to the cell. In exchange— I won’t blow the place up.”

“Brother, all our merchandi—“

“Shut up, Noatak!! Do you **_want_** to fucking join them?! I’m in charge now!!”

_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck—_

“Stand down, we have you surrounded!”

“What?” Shao gasped.

The room was suddenly filled with guns. A lot of guns. Which meant people. People whose lives were in danger. Aunt Lin was standing a distance behind the brothers, her Glock pointed at them.

_Oh shit, nononononononon—_

“Were you not fucking listening Beifong?!? I will bring this place down!!”

“Nobody has to get hurt! Just lower your weapons and set the remote on the ground gently.”

“Do what she says, Tarrlok!” Noatak pleaded.

“You are all weak! I will die like a fucking man!”

Someone rushed forwards.

“KORRA, NO!!”

She tried her best. The stupid idiot tried her best, but Tarrlok pushed the button. Kuvira closed her eyes and gripped Shao’s hand tightly. Nothing happened.

Korra was still wrestling with Tarrlok, and the cop knew that she had to do something.

Kuvira lunged forwards and pulled Korra out of the way— just as a bright light filled the room, and the cop felt a something ripping through her stomach.

 

_.               .               ._

_“You know, Kuvira, I always assumed you’d marry Opal!” Suyin said with a laugh._

_“I hate you sometimes, Mom!”_

_“No you don’t!” To prove her point, Suyin engulfed Kuvira into a big hug and ruffled her hair— messing up the girl’s braid._

_“MOM!!”_

_“Okay, okay. So when’s the wedding?”_

_“I haven’t proposed yet! I… I need a ring. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”_

_At first Suyin look startled, and then she burst out laughing._

_“Oh, sweetie, that’s what’s been troubling you?! We’re the metal clan, for crying out loud! I can get you a custom ring in a day!”_

_Kuvira let out a small sigh and smiled._

_“So… any ideas for how you’re going to ask?”_

_“I— I haven’t thought of anything, no.”_

_“Well… that’s a good start.”_

_“Shut up.”_

_Suyin chuckled and pressed a kiss to her daughter’s cheek._

_“If you’re worried about her saying no, don’t be. She loves you more than anything in the world. More than oxygen itself!!_

_“She looks at you… like she’s looking at a diamond statue. She knows that your priceless, but she also knows that your tough— that you don’t break easily. She knows that you have rough edges. She sees you as more that beautiful.”_

_Kuvira blushed and looked out over the Zaofu sky._

_“You do love her back, don’t you?”_

_“Of course, Mom! She’s absolutely wonderful! She’s smart and funny and beautiful and kind and understanding and—“_

_Su raised a hand, “Sweetie, I’m just teasing you. You two have been dating for… five years now? I’m old enough to know that there’s no time limit on when you realize someone’s your soulmate. If you truly love her and you truly think she’s the one— you go get that girl.”_

_“Is that little hole-in-the-wall Water Tribe restaurant still open? On Whitefeather Blvd?”_

_“Lakka’s? It’s been some time since I last visited… but why don’t we go find out. That would be a lovely place for your special night.”_

_“Thanks. Thanks for everything, Mom.”_

**_End of Part Five_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... well... that just happened.
> 
> Stay tuned?
> 
> -Z


	25. Four outta Five

**_One Week Later:_ **

 

The first thing Korra noticed when she opened her eyes, was just how symmetrical the room was. Both beds were occupied, and next to each bed… someone was sitting down— asleep with their face pressed into the mattress, holding the patient’s hand. In Korra’s case, her hand was tightly being gripped by Asami’s.

_I love you so much._

Korra, not wanting to disturb her engineer’s much needed rest, looked over at the other side of the room. The woman who had been down in the tunnel with them, Shao, was sitting at the edge of the bed. She was still clad in her police uniform— poor woman probably still had police duties to attend to, even after all the events that had transpired. Korra looked at the other patient.

“Kuvira?”

The second thing Korra noticed:

_HOLY SHIT WE BOTH FUCKING SURVIVED!!_

The woman, fully awake and alert, looked over at Korra and smiled. The left side of her face was a sickly black and yellow from her encounter with _“Mongo”._

“Hey twinkle-toes.”

“You saved my life! You risked everything just to save me!”

“There’s another life where you would have done the same, kid.”

“Korra. Call me Korra. Please.”

Kuvira hesitated for a moment— perhaps ridden with the guilt of working for Camp Amon for all those weeks? Then she relaxed into the bed and gave Korra a wide smile. They had earned each other’s respect.

“Okay… Korra.”

“How is everything? All I remember is the explosion.”

“According to Bolin, we took a lot of the shrapnel and both of us received concussions from the blunt force of the impact. You’ve actually been in and out of consciousness, but they said that the traumatic injuries might prevent you from being aware. It’s been about a week. The doctors managed to take everything out. The— the ‘Bloodsnow Brothers’ didn’t make it.”

Perhaps it takes a lot of suffering to become so compassionate, for at that moment all Korra could feel was pity and remorse. They had done terrible— truly terrible things. But Tarrlok and Noatak didn’t deserve to die. Prison? Yes. But… what a horrible way to go.

“What about the others?”

“The explosion malfunctioned— what with the delay and all. It didn’t set off at the radius Tarrlok wanted it to. It took out the four of us and a few crates of Meth. The others, even the back-up that Lin brought in— they were all unharmed. They’ve shut down the camp permanently— for investigation reasons, but none of the staff wanted to stick around when they learned what was really happening. At least…”

“At least it’s over,” the younger girl finished.

Shao was the first to stir, and when Korra looked at the clock she nearly laughed. Of course they would be asleep— it was 3:00 in the morning! The week underground had… it had messed with a lot— their internal clocks to say the least.

Kuvira’s wife stood up hastily.

“Hey,” Kuvira said.

Shao made a noise, almost like a whimper, “HEY!? That’s all you have to say?! You nearly died, you stupid… selfish… stubborn…” The woman trailed off crying into Kuvira’s neck.

“I love you too,” Kuvira said with a grin to her wife— kissing her short, messy hair. She looked over at Korra, "It's been a week but she's still mad at me. You know the whole 'near-death' thing? Apparently it makes people over-emotional."

_True love takes its form in the strangest of ways._

Korra looked down at her own girlfriend and gave a big goofy grin at the way the blanket had pressed into Asami’s check— leaving adorable little indents. The engineer began to stir at all the excitement in the room. Korra’s heart leapt for the millionth time that summer, ever since the first day she’d seen her, as she stared into beautiful green eyes.

“Korra?” she asked sleepily. Raava-dammit— sleepy-girl-voices were the best thing in the world…

“Hey Asami… that explosion— the one made from Future Industries tech… it failed.”

The engineer’s eyes narrowed, “Performance issues… you know… four outta five are fine... you just happened to get malfunctioning explosion number five.”

“Ah well… better luck next time.”

“Babe?”

“Hmmm?”

“Don’t **_ever_** face off against crazy Drug Lords again—“

“AW!!”

“— without me.”

“Oh. Alright then. That sounds fair to me.”

“Oh no, no, no, no, no, and no. I’m putting you two inside of a padded box buried deep within a mountain side for the next sixty years. You cause too much fucking trouble,” Kuvira said from across the room. Shao playfully hit her shoulder.

“That’s fair. There’s no place I’d rather be, as long as it’s with her.”

“You’re really fucking cheesy, _Avatar._ ”

“Hey! That’s my parent’s nickname for me!”

“Yeah, and I’m practically your other _mom_!”

In the end, Asami and Shao had to pull the curtains around their beds so that they would quit bickering with each other. It was all in good fun, but when Korra saw the stern expression on Asami’s face— she knew it was for an altogether different reason.

“Sams…”

“Korra… babe… something happened during the explosion…”

“What? What happened? Is everyone okay?”

“Yes! Well… sort of…”

“Asami, please. Tell me what happened?”

The engineer pondered how to answer this carefully, and then her shoulders dropped in defeat. She carefully lifted the blanket without saying a word and Korra finally understood.

“T-the doctors tried their best to keep it. But a piece of shrapnel t-tore through an important artery. If Mako hadn’t used his belt to make a t-tourniquet right then and t-there, you would have d-died,” her girlfriend said with tears streaming down her face.

 

.               .               .

****

**_Two Weeks Later:_ **

 

“Hey…” Korra trailed off. She was sitting in her wheelchair on Air Temple Island, waiting to begin physical therapy with a doctor that Tenzin had highly recommended.

“Hey there… Korra,” Kuvira said as she opened the door and stepped through. All things considered, her injuries were mostly upper body. Her bruise was almost healed. She’d recovered quicker than Korra had, to say the least. And she could walk around.

_Don’t guilt trip her. If anything, this is Tarrlok and Noata— no. I’m not going to hold a grudge. That’s not Raava’s way. I’ll have to have some one-on-one time with Tenzin. He’d understand._

“Listen— thanks for coming. I don’t think the others would have… well… they weren’t there… you know.”

“Kid… Korra… you don’t say thank you when someone does this to you. I’m so… so fucking sorry…”

Kuvira’s shoulders slumped and in that moment Korra had never seen someone look so vulnerable.

The Water Tribe girl looked down at the stump where the bottom half of her left leg used to be— tapering off just below the knee. Did it still hurt? Yes. But… it also still felt as though the leg was there. The doctors had called this “Phantom Pain”. Korra let out a small sigh.

“Kuv— don’t you dare apologize. I wouldn’t even be talking to you right now if it weren’t for you pushing me out of the way.”

The younger girl was suddenly startled when Badgermole slammed her fist against a counter top. Korra jumped each time Kuvira smashed something— again and again until her hand began to bleed. She smashed decorative pieces and furniture and threw books and even slammed Korra’s dinner into the wall. But Korra let her blow off her steam. As Katara used to say when Korra got mad;

 _“Better a vase or a chair than a person.”_  

“DAMMIT KORRA!! Of course you wouldn’t be talking to me— if I hadn’t decided to bring fucking **_KIDS_** into this operation! All because I thought you could help me obtain information I could have gotten in due time— if I had just been more fucking patient!! I endangered the lives of so many people!!

“What if Asami had died?! Or Wu? Or Mako? Would you still be saying it was okay?! Stop being so Raava-damned selfless for once in your life and fucking be angry at me for the shit that I’ve done!! We were all kidnapped— ** _HELL, TWO PEOPLE ARE DECEASED BECAUSE OF ME!! ALL FOR A FUCKING DRUGS BUST!!_** ”

Korra couldn’t respond at first. She knew that, had the worst happened, she _wouldn’t_ have forgiven Kuvira. Thankfully, everyone she loved had come out of this… reasonably intact. Fifteen minutes passed, and Kuvira was sitting in a chair with her head in her hands. Finally, Korra spoke up.

“Come here.”

Kuvira stood up and walked over to Korra. The older woman let out a surprised gasp when Korra pulled her down into a massive bear hug. Kuvira shifted so that she was kneeling on the ground while they poured all their emotions into the embrace. They cried into each other’s shoulders until no more tears could fall.

“K-Korra. Are we friends?”

“We’re so much more than that. More than best friends, even. After what we’ve gone through… I love you.”

Kuvira let out a sniffle and a chuckle as she buried herself into Korra’s hoodie, “I love you too, kid.”

A few more moments passed— each one reminding Korra just how precious life was.

“What’s going to happen to you now?”

“Chief Beifong, my aunt, fired me and took away my badge. I deserve it. At least I didn’t receive a trial for landing a minor in the hospital. Don’t protest!” she said, holding up a hand when Korra tried to object,

“They would have been right to throw me in jail. I got off easy, all things considered— actually I have your Dad to thank for that. He defended my actions because I relayed so much information to him this summer— allowing him to overtake your Uncle. The others… I told Beifong that they were following my orders, so she let them stay on the force. I guess I’ll be out of work for a while, but… Asami paid for both our hospital bills,” she answered sadly. “So at least I have some money to work with. Shao, too.”

The door swung open and in walked a gray haired woman with a warm smile on her face. The girls… well mostly Kuvira (seeing as the younger couldn’t really move) sprang away.

“I heard some yelling, is everything alright?”

“Kya!”

“ ** _Doctor_** Kya today, Korra,” the woman corrected with a smile. She bent down and gave Korra a big hug. She then shook Kuvira’s hand— the former cop still looking a little… spooked… from her earlier outburst.

“Well then, if you’re ready, I’d like us to begin with some simple stretches.”

 

.               .               .

****

**_One Month Later:_ **

 

“Easy now, it’s okay if you can’t do it on the first try,” Kya said.

They had just finished fitting the prosthetic Asami had designed for her. It wasn’t just practical; it was also very beautiful. And blue— Asami, you charmer. Metal patterns of waves swirled around it and made a really pretty scene. _Korra_ was spelled out in the white sea-foam. If anything could describe the word _aesthetic_ … it was totally this little gizmo.

Korra looked over at Asami. The engineer’s hair was shining beautifully in the sun. They smiled at each other and Korra took a big breath. She grabbed Asami by the collar of her jacket and gave her a pre-victory kiss— causing the older girl to blush furiously.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Asami giggled, “Now get on that ramp and walk! I want to see that prosthetic in action!”

She let go of Asami’s arm with a hearty laugh and began to walk across the supports. It was tough. Really, really tough.

_One step at a time. Come on, it’s not so hard. Just… take a step for Asami._

She did.

_And another for Mako._

Her new prosthetic, while hurting a little, continued to move forwards.

_A step for Wu._

She was a quarter of the way through. Her arms were shaking but she wouldn’t give up. She rested on the rails for a few seconds.

“Korra, are you alright?”

_A step for Kuvira. And Shao, who showed just as much bravery when the time called for it._

She began moving forwards again.

“I’m okay, Asami. I’ve got this.”

With each step the prosthetic hurt less and walking got easier.

_A step each for Varrick, Zhu Li, and Bolin._

Halfway there… Kuvira was waiting at the end with a hopeful expression— a big, wide smile. It was the first time Korra had seen a happy look on the woman in many… no… the first time _ever_. The further along the railings she moved, the more similar Korra realized they were. They were both fierce. Determined to succeed. Without **_ever_** thinking anything through. But most of all, they had both survived Camp Amon. They had both found their true loves. Korra smiled and kept taking steps forwards.

_A step for Mom, and one for Dad too!_

She was wobbling less. She was getting the hang of it!

_A step for Pema and Tenzin and Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo! Aunt Kya and Katara!_

Almost there…

_I’m running out of people… uh… Eska and Desna! They’re going to do a great job at running the Northern Water Tribe!_

Korra was sweating. It would take a long time to properly walk again, but fortunately Korra had a lot of that.

_A step for Noatak and Tarrlok and Unalaq and Hiroshi. To prove to them that I’m stronger than anything they thought they could throw at me!!_

Just one more to go!

_A step for me. And for all the other kids at Camp Amon._

Korra let go of the railings and walked straight into Kuvira’s outstretched arms. She was joined by Asami, and then Kya. And Mako. And Wu. And Bolin. And her parents. Then the air-babies. And Tenzin and Pema. One big group hug— all for her. She smirked at the thought, and then sank into the embrace of the people she loved most in this world.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooooooo!!!!  
> *crowds cheering in a stadium*
> 
> I had you all fooled. It's the little things in life
> 
> Love,  
> Me
> 
> P.S. I totally just realized that Kuv started being friends with Korra after Kor trips and sprains her ankle, and then they become bffffffs after... You know.... Lefty goes....  
> #unintentionalsymbolism


	26. #firstdate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Mental Breakdown

****

Life… life got a whole lot better.

 

**_Two Months Later:_ **

“Who knew you could fit eight people into a Prius?” Bolin commented.

“Not comfortably.”

“Just please drive the speed limit,” Kuvira whined, “The last thing I want is for one of my former co-workers to find us stuffed inside with a bunch of kids— like one of those clown cars.”

Bolin was driving, Opal had shotgun and was navigating. Shao was sitting on Kuvira, Asami was sitting on Korra, and Wu was sitting on Mako. In hindsight, they probably should’ve taken another car. But it wasn’t a terribly far trip.

Sure enough, within half-an-hour, they were at the beach. It was a gorgeous day— not too hot and not too cold. They all leapt out of the car and started grabbing beach towels and coolers.

“You really do keep your promises,” Mako said to Opal. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

The others began to excitedly sprint down to the beach, but Korra and Asami took their time on the sand. It was a new terrain, after all.

“You don’t have to wait up for me. It’s not like I haven’t fallen… like… fifty times already,” Korra joked. “If I take a tumble, I can get back up.”

“Nonsense. You’re my prototype tester! What if it’s not a suitable design for sand? I have to know!”

“Well if the others eat all the food before we wobble over there, don’t look at me.”

“Maybe you can satisfy my appetite later,” Asami whispered.

Korra blushed from her cheeks to the top of her ears. She took a few steps and stumbled a little.

“Ugh… it’s not solid ground.”

“Yeah. It’s sand, sweetie.”

Korra took a moment to steady herself on Asami’s arm, and then gave her girlfriend a kiss. Together, they managed to stumble over the dune and make their way to the gaggle of buffoons awaiting them.

Working together. Collaboration. Theirs was a relationship of synergy.

 

.               .               .

 

“Look at you, all dressed up in your Harmonic best!” Asami laughed.

Korra nervously tugged at her hair and chuckled. She was in her blue shirt— you know… her mother’s special shirt for only the most important occasions. And it truly was the most important of occasions.

#firstdate

Asami, as always, looked snazzy in scarlet. She was wearing a beautiful red dress with all the right ribbons and frills. She was… she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

“Hey there…” Korra murmured. She wrapped a hand around Asami’s waist and pressed their foreheads together. She managed to sneak in a peck on the lips and the engineer couldn’t help but let out a happy sigh.

“Didn’t anyone tell you not to kiss someone on the first date?” the older girl whispered.

“Yeah… I think it was Mako.”

Asami went pale for half a second, and Korra burst out in a fit of giggles. There the girls stood, in the entryway of the restaurant, embracing and laughing their asses off while a waiter stood nearby— ever so confused. Never mind that they… you know… _saw each other every day_.

“Come on, let’s sit down before they yell at us.”

They slid into a booth and Asami poked Korra’s shoulder playfully.

“They can’t yell at us! I’m the CEO of Future Industries and you’re the Hero of Homosexuality! The Lesbian who brought down Camp Amon!”

“SHHHH do you want everyone in Kwongs to know we’re dating?!”

With a roll of her eyes, Asami grabbed Korra roughly by the collar of her jacket and planted a long kiss on her lips. There were some gawkers from other booths, but in truth the moment belonged to the two of them.

When they broke apart, Korra gave her girlfriend a big smile.

“Maybe I do,” Asami whispered.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think we deserve that.”

.               .               .

“ _Korra_ ,” she groaned, gripping the younger girl’s chesnut hair as she continued her work.

“Mmmm?”

“ ** _Korra!_** ”

“What?” the younger girl asked, poking her head up from between Asami’s legs. “Is everything alright? D-did I do something wrong?”

“Don’t fucking stop!”

Korra, though utterly confused as she was, continued her exploration with her mouth. Gradually, the intensity built and built until Asami couldn’t handle it much longer. She gripped one of her bedposts just as the wave of pleasure hit her and let out a scream. Thankfully the staff had been sent home that night.

“KORRA!”

She felt like she was traveling at a million miles per hour. She could do this more often. It wasn’t until she felt the other girl’s hands slowly trailing up her stomach and Korra’s mouth on hers— tasting something wonderfully tangy and unfamiliar— that she felt as though she could move again.

“You are really, really gay,” Asami whispered as she fell back onto the pillow, trying to catch her breath.

“That good, Sunshine?”

“Mmm hmm. Korra?”

“Yeah?”

“Your turn.”

.               .               .

****

**_Six Months Later:_ **

_It is with great hope that we accept you into our academy, Republic City University. The combination of your heroic actions and your initiation to lead an internationally recognized business despite dire circumstances impresses the Council of Admissions greatly, and it is with great dreams that we welcome you into our halls._

_Best of Luck,_

_Office of Admissions_

_RCU_

“Korra,” the engineer whispered. “I got in.”

“What!? As if you didn’t have a guaranteed entry into every university in the world?!”

Asami blushed a little and Korra scooped the older girl up into her arms spinning her around and laughing. The CEO pressed her forehead into Korra’s neck and sighed happily.

“How did we get to be so fortunate, Kor?”

The younger girl chuckled, “Well… when you’ve hit rock bottom— the only place that’s left to go is up.”

 

.               .               .

 

“Are you sure this is safe?”

“What? It’s like a peddle-boat, but in the shape of a Turtleduck!”

“That **_can’t_** be stable. It looks like it could tip any second!”

“I’m Water Tribe! I’m lifeguard by default! Quit analyzing our date with your science!”

“I can’t help it!”

“Alright… the only solution is to go slow… and not move around in the boat… which means we have to cuddle—“

“Yeah, you totally planned this out, Kor.”

“Pssssshhhh! What? No I didn’t!”

 

.               .               .

 

Sometimes, though, the times weren’t always good.

 

**_One Month Later:_ **

Korra woke up— the same nightmare as usual. Tarrlok and Noatak and the underground. She had learned to live with it. Though when she turned over to cuddle her girlfriend and fall back asleep, she realized that Asami’s side of the bed was empty. Still warm, but empty. Which meant she was somewhere, awake, in the Estate.

Korra slipped her prosthetic on and grabbed a robe from the closet. She stood at the bed for half a second, and then grabbed a blanket. Sometimes blankets make everything better.

The halls had a certain eerie feeling to them— as though Hiroshi was everywhere… watching. On more than one occasion, Asami had suggested that she buy an apartment. Korra hadn’t understood at first— I mean it was a giant fucking MANSION… but now… now she could see what bothered the older girl. There were ghosts here, and Asami was having to live with that.

She found her girlfriend on the balcony overlooking Yue Bay, hugging her arms tightly around herself. It was winter, and she was in a nightgown— no doubt too proud to admit she was cold. Korra silently draped the blanket around Asami’s shoulders, startling the older girl for a second. But then Asami pulled the fabric tightly around herself and let out a small sigh.

“This is the most beautiful city in the world. I’m glad my parents let me move here.”

Asami didn’t say anything, only shrugging. Korra took that as a sign to continue.

“It’s polluted though. You can’t even see the stars from downtown— all the orange light blocks everything. In the North and the South… we have these great big light shows that make the skies blue and green and it’s better than fireworks. And the stars! Asami, you can there are more stars in the sky than hairs on your head!”

“That sounds beautiful,” her girlfriend answered quietly, not bothering to look at Korra.

“Yeah. But I was always too busy trying to find the stars when I first came here… I didn’t ever look at the horizon.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you see that big tower, the one all lit up… all the way over there?” Korra pointed. “The biggest one in the _whole city_?”

“Um…”

“You built that tower, Asami. Future Industries, a beacon for STEM! It’s absolutely incredible! It’s more amazing than all the stars in the sky! You did that! You are so smart and funny and you totally think things through (unlike me). You’re the most beautiful girl in the world, and you don’t let anyone stand in your way! I admire you so much.”

“Korra… how can you be so nice to me? My father designed those explosives—“

“Your father is exactly where he should be. He’s sitting in prison, slowly understanding that what he did was wrong. I believe… no… I _know_ that someday he will feel a great remorse for what he has done. I’ve forgiven him.”

“How?”

“Time. Time can fix or crumble you, but only if you let it.”

“I-I need a lot of time.”

“That’s alright. It’s the one thing your father is going to have a lot of while he’s in prison. He can wait. It’s going to be okay, Sunshine.”

“Korra?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you so much.”

The Water Tribe girl smirked and stood on her tippy-toes to give Asami a kiss on the forehead, whispering “I love you, too” into the engineer’s ear. They walked back inside holding hands— and the Estate seemed to have a warmer, welcoming feel to it.

 

.               .               .

 

Korra woke up screaming. It was the Raava-damned nightmare again. Sometimes it would be the Bloodsnow Brothers, and sometimes it was worse. Sometimes someone had died in her dreams. And this time, it was a **_really_** bad nightmare— one where the victim was _Kuvira_.

Looking over at the bed, she remembered with a sob that Asami was away on a business trip at Ba Sing Sei.

_Fuck._

Korra grabbed her prosthetic and stumbled to the bathroom— desperately trying to get the image of the bloody broken woman she cared for deeply out of her mind. She stepped into the shower, still wearing her boxers and camisole. Hot, steamy water shot down on her and she closed her eyes.

A flash of light and the intense feeling of shrapnel ripping through her shot into Korra’s head. She dropped to the floor of the shower screaming and holding her head in her hands.

The water, usually calming for someone from the… you know… _Water Tribe_ , wasn’t doing jack shit.

So she stumbled out, panting and feeling as though someone was about to kill her. She took a glance in the mirror. There were dark bags under her eyes, which were bloodshot and sickly looking. Her hair was scraggily and unkempt, and also soaking wet.

_Raava, I’m a mess right now._

Korra didn’t know what to do, so she violently pulled drawers open— unsure of what she was searching for.

Scissors made their way into her hands, and then her hands made their way to her hair.

Bit by bit, Korra snipped her usually beautiful hair to pieces, crying and shaking. It wasn’t an even job, and it looked absolutely awful. Korra dropped to the ground— a sopping-wet mess.

_Fuck, I need to… I need someone…_

At some point she had grabbed her phone and dialed a random number— so you can imagine how strange it was for her to look up thirty minutes later into Wu’s bright green eyes.

He didn’t judge her. He didn’t scorn her. He merely dropped down to the floor of the bathroom and talked to her for a long, long time— holding her and whispering that she was okay.  

She was okay.

Korra closed her eyes and leaned against Wu. She needed to fix the damage Camp Amon had caused her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story's not over yet.
> 
> Also there's an Easter Egg in there, for those of you who've been reading Korrasami fanfiction on this site for a while. A reference to another popular fic.
> 
> Love,  
> Z
> 
> P.S. Everytime there's a time skip- it's skipping forwards. Not jumping around like the flashbacks. We're about nine months(?) since everything has happened at Camp Amon. I think. I'm not going to do the math. But yeah, we're going forwards in time, pretty quickly too (compared to the first five parts).


	27. I'm Not Allowed to Be Angry

**_The Next Day:_ **

“You’re pretty good at this,” Korra said with the hint of a smile.

“Well… working with the metal clan… you get pretty good at tools. Su also constantly did her kids’ hair for them. Huan would always throw a fit. I observed and practiced on my sister one day.”

“What happened?”

“It was a nice haircut, actually. She still wears it. But… well… Su, my Mom, got really pissed and made me polish her study for a week.”

“That’s classic Badgermole right there. I bet Asami would hire you as her personal hairdresser.”

“Kid, she wouldn’t let anyone touch her hair with a ten-foot pole. Bangs?”

“Naw, I need to be able to tie my hair back for track practice.”

Kuvira took a few more minutes to even out Korra’s new shoulder-length style. She took a few swipes with a razor to layer it in the back— holding a mirror up for Korra.

 “It looks… wonderful! And… thanks. Thanks for doing this on such a short notice.”

Kuvira kneeled down in front of Korra and put a hand over hers. Korra looked up into her evergreen eyes and saw a sadness.

“The haircut’s free of charge… but you wanna tell me what’s going on?”

Korra didn’t say anything. She just sat there, looking at Kuvira’s hands. There was a tiny scar on her finger— invisible to anyone who didn’t have keen eyes like Korra. It was thin but long, and it ran along the side of the older woman’s thumb.

“How did you get that?” Korra pointed.

Kuvira let out a small sigh— knowing that the younger girl would continue to dodge the question.

“It’s actually a funny story. When I trained to join the Zaofu Police Force, I didn’t have any training with firearms. Naturally, they put me to work at a shooting range with the other recruits. I was so nervous— I was holding the gun in all the wrong ways when I fired it for the first time. The recoil damage startled me and the gun jumped out of my hands— giving me this nice scar as a souvenir.”

 “That must’ve hurt.”

“Not nearly as much as the berating the instructor gave me afterwards.”

Korra laughed a little, “They must’ve hated you.”

“I think they celebrated a little when I lost my badge,” Kuvira said with a small sigh.

Korra immediately stopped laughing. She had barely thought of how Kuvira’s life was going. She’d lost her job— no… her career. It wasn’t as though Republic City was having the most prosperous of economies right now. Her eyes fell to the ground— part of her felt as though she was responsible for ruining the older woman’s life.

A moment later, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up.

“Kid— I know you feel responsible for my loss. But… whether or not I deserve it, or who’s to blame… I can only try and fix the damage and move on. There’s only so many times you can run diagnostics on a problem. Eventually you just have to work towards a solution.”

There was silence between the two friends for a good, long while.

“You’re right,” Korra answered.

 

.               .               .

 

**_Later That Week:_ **

“Hey, Kor! I’m home! You’re not going to believe how boring that— Oh!”

Korra was in the kitchen, making Tom Kha Gai. She dropped in the mushrooms into the soup and turned to greet her girl.

“You cut your hair!”

“Kuvira helped,” the younger girl laughed, running into her girlfriend’s arms.

They embraced and just stood there for a long time. Every second passed— Asami squeezed Korra tighter and tighter until it felt like they were no longer two separate people. They swayed a little on the spot, too wrapped up in all the excitement to stand still. Never mind that it’d only been a week.

“That smells delicious.”

“Thanks, I figured you’d be home by dinner.”

Asami pressed a kiss to Korra’s lips and the younger girl’s heart fluttered.

“I missed you so much,” the engineer murmured.

“I missed you too.”

After dinner, which was unquestionably fabulous, Asami had one of the servants light a fire. They laid together on the couch— living in absolute bliss. The older girl ran her hands through Korra’s hair, mesmerized by the new look.

“Why did you decide to cut it?”

Korra watched the fire flicker and dance, like performers at a festival. She let out a breath she’d been holding in for the past week.

“I… I had something bad happen…” she admitted.

Asami sat up attentively.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“While you were gone… I had a nightmare one night… it was horrible… I freaked out…”

“What happened?”

“I… I don’t really know. I just grabbed a pair of scissors…. And…”

“You don’t have to continue,” Asami said softly.

Korra fiddled with Asami’s hands— unsure of what to say. Fortunately, the engineer broke the silence.

“I think you haven’t been telling the truth to someone.”

“Asami! _I would never lie to you!_ ”

“I know that! I meant you. When was the last time you saw Tenzin? He offered to help you with all this.”

Korra’s head hung in shame, “I thought— I thought I wouldn’t need him after I figured out how to walk again. My goal was just getting back on my feet… literally.”

Asami smirked at the pun and wrapped her arms around Korra— engulfing the younger girl in a big hug. The Water Tribe girl sighed and rested her head on Asami’s chest.

“Maybe it’s time to ask for a little help.”

 

.               .               .

****

“Will Miss Sato be joining us today?”

“No… no, she said she thought it would be better if I did this by myself.”

Tenzin leaned back in his chair and thoughtfully stroked his beard. Korra looked around the office— which was very simply decorated. It was understandable— the Air Nation didn’t exactly have a lot of artifacts left over after the Hundred-Year-War. Still… the bamboo couch Korra was sitting on could have really used some cushions.

“So… you have been experiencing a lot of… nightmares?”

“Y-yeah. They keep getting worse.”

“What are they about?”

“Camp Amon… and… the warehouse.”

“I see.”

Tenzin leaned forwards and put a hand on Korra’s shoulder.

“You have done so much by stopping those men— more than some people do in their lifetimes.”

“But… I feel so scared all the time.”

“You are safe, Korra. Do you understand this?”

“Yes… I just feel like… like they could still hurt me.”

“How?”

“I don’t know!”

Tenzin stood and offered her a cup of tea, which she took gratefully.

“Those men are gone. They can never harm you again. But… I am sensing that you are afraid of the pain that was thrust upon you.”

“I just… I spend so much time trying to tell myself that I can’t be angry at anyone else…”

“That in turn, you’ve become angry at yourself?” Tenzin finished.

Korra nodded as a small tear rolled down her cheek. She really was angry. At Tarrlok. At Noatak. Unalaq and Hiroshi. And even at Kuvira. It didn’t make any sense. It was in the past— and she had told Kuvira that she’d forgiven her. It wasn't Raava's way to hold a grudge.

“Why do you think you’re not allowed to be angry?”

“Because they all were. The whole ‘Camp Amon’ act was an act of Tarrlok and Noatak’s anger. For whom, I don’t know… maybe their father. And Hiroshi… some part of him was evil out of anger for his wife. My Uncle always treated my horribly because he was jealous of my father. Even Kuvira must’ve been acting out of anger when she signed up to take out the Camp. I don’t want that anger to control me.”

“That’s very wise and mature of you. But anger is a very human emotion, Korra. The Air Nation believes that, while you should not let such negative emotions control your actions, you shouldn’t neglect your feelings. Bottling them up… well… it’s what you’re doing right now. Perhaps… perhaps we ought to spend some time meditating on your anger. In time… you will find yourself letting go of that rage.”

Korra nodded. Normally, she wasn’t a big fan of Tenzin’s meditation techniques, but right now she needed to deal with it. She needed to get better.

 

.               .               .

**_Two Months Later:_ **

 

“Oh hey there, Korra!” a cheery voice called from the lawn.

Opal walked up to the edge of the cliff on Air Temple Island where Korra had been mediating— though the Water Tribe girl didn’t mind the interruption.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stop you— if you want me to leave...”

“No!” Korra said with a smile, “No, I was pretty much done. Have a seat.”

Korra had to admit, she didn’t know the other girl very well. Aside from hanging out with Mako and Bolin, or Kuvira and Shao, the girls hadn’t talked much. But they saw each other quite a lot during Tenzin’s sessions, and ate meals together on the Island. Maybe Korra could use another friend— one that wasn’t reckless or hot-headed like the rest.

“How are you doing?” Opal asked, her feet dangling over the edge of the cliff. Okay, so maybe she was a little careless— but not nearly as much as Korra’s other friends.

“I think… I think I’m getting the hang of this. I’m slowly realizing how truly angry I was. I just wasn’t allowing myself to feel it. I’ve stopped having as many nightmares, though. So I think I’m getting better.”

Opal nodded, “My brother Bataar left home after an argument with my parents. For a long time, I was angry with him; Jinora helped me use meditation to let go. When he finally came back, I was just so happy to see him that I didn’t understand why I was so angry in the first place. I think you don’t realize how silly your emotions can be until new ones move in.”

They kept talking until the sun left and the moon rose to replace it. As they walked back to the Temple— telling each other funny or embarrassing stories and laughing at the other’s expense, Korra couldn’t help but smile.

And for once it didn’t seem forced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One or two more chapters, I'll be wrapping this fic up soon.


	28. A Certain Someone SUCKS at Video Games

**_Two Years Later:_ **

****

“You are not going to believe what M-Bear got for my birthday!!” Wu squealed.

Korra raised an eyebrow at Mako, who folded his arms and looked away.

“It’s his nickname for me,” he pouted.

“What did he get for you?” Asami asked, having a sip of her beer.

“Tickets to go see **_Ellen_**!!”

“NO WAY!!” Korra laughed, giving a smug Mako a high five.

They were sitting in Asami’s kitchen— she’d decided to buy and furnish an apartment (albeit huge) downtown because the Mansion was just… it was just too much for her. She didn’t need twenty servants, either. She still kept it— her mother had designed the place, after all.

The modern style was smooth and sleek— reminding Korra of Seattle architecture. There were all the right colors and shapes, and it made the girl wonder if Asami was secretly an artist as well. After all, she was fantastic at drawing. 

Mako put an arm around Wu’s waist, “Well… you know… I thought he’d enjoy that. I’ve always wanted to see California, too.”

“A vacation sounds nice,” Asami said wistfully. “I’ve been spending so much time at the office, I’m seeing Java code.”

.               .               .

 

“Best two outta three?” Korra groaned.

“Face it, you can’t win,” Kuvira smirked.

They were playing Halo— because Korra had lost against Badgermole at CoD, Battlefield, CounterStrike, Team Fortress 2, GTA 5, and somehow kept dying during Portal 2. Korra just wasn’t as good at video games as Kuvira. Not that she would admit it.

“Capture the Flag or a Race?”

“Race!”

Instantly, Korra knew that Kuvira was going to win. So, naturally, she stepped on Kuvira’s toes with her prosthetic.

“OW!! Hey!!”

Korra snickered and leaned forwards to see where her Warthog was going. She was going to win, she was going to win, she was going to—

Kuvira pushed Korra onto her side with a cackle and the younger girl lost sight of the screen.

“No fair!!”

“Two can play at that game!”

Shao walked into the kitchen and snatched the bag of Milanos, enjoying a few cookies. She walked up to the couch and rolled her eyes at the sight. The two of them were practically sparring around the living room— the game completely forgotten.

“Alright, you two!” she said with a laugh. “Break it up!”

Kuvira draped an arm around her wife’s shoulders, grabbed a cookie, and chuckled. “She just doesn’t want to admit that she can’t play video games!”

“Can too! I’ll beat your butt at… at…”

“Minecraft?” Kuvira playfully asked with a raised eye. “Don’t Starve?”

“I’ll think of something,” Korra grumbled.

 

.               .               .

 

“Come on, come on! Mako said that their episode is tonight!”

“We’re skipping going out tonight because there’s a chance we’ll see them in the audience?” Korra mumbled.

“Oh shush, you.”

At least the episode was funny. Ellen was her usual self with the guests and the gimmicks. Opal handed Korra a cider and the girl settled down on the couch with Asami. They’d almost gotten to the end of the episode, having only caught Mako and Wu in one or two camera shots, when Ellen diverged from her usual routine;

“Alright, before we go today, we have a special event today! Mako, would you please come on down?”

The living room was absolutely silent— wide eyed as their friend calmly walked down to the set on their TV. What on Earth was he doing??

“Hello, Mako, and how are you doing?” Ellen asked.

“I’m doing really well! I’m here tonight with my boyfriend, Wu!”

The camera panned to a very surprised Wu, sitting in the audience. He looked dumbstruck, to say the least.

“How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“Wow! Only nineteen years old?! Why are you wasting your youth on a talk show!?”

Cue audience laughter.

“Well… I knew that your show was very important to my boyfriend… which is why I wanted to ask him something when we finally got here…”

_What? Oh my god!!_

“Wu, could you come down here?” DeGeneres asked with a knowing grin.

_He’s going to do that!? On international TV!?_

Mako got down on one knee and pulled out a box, “Wu, you are an amazing boyfriend, and these past three years have been— well they’ve been the best of my life. Will you make me the happiest guy in the world and share the rest of our lives together?”

Wu jumped up and down and planted a kiss on Ellen’s cheek in excitement (who looked a little surprised). “You bet your ass!” he cheered.

**_OH MY FUCKING RAAVA!!_ **

“He didn’t,” Kuvira said. “Did he really just do that?!”

Bolin nodded with a laugh, “He told me two weeks ago he was going to ask.”

They watched as Mako and Wu shared a loving kiss on-screen. They were positively beaming as the audience cheered. The living room burst into applause.

“And you wanted to go out tonight,” Kuvira said, poking Korra in the shoulder.

“Oh shush, you.”

.               .               .

 

“So how does it feel to be engaged?” Korra asked, tossing the ball for Naga.

“It feels… really great. Like I’ll always have a reason to smile for the rest of my life,” Mako said, grinning like an idiot. “It makes me feel so silly…”

“What?”

“Well… for a while… you know, before and during Camp Amon for a bit… I genuinely wanted to become straight… can you imagine?”

**_I think you don’t realize how silly your emotions can be until new ones move in._ **

“A part of me thought my life would get easier if I could just complete the program. But then I met Asami, and I realized that my sexuality wasn’t just something I could _wish away_ ,” Korra admitted with a smile.

Naga brought the ball up to the pair and Mako threw it as far as he could. Oh yeah, he’s the baseball dude. The dog was going to be chasing that one for a while.

Korra’s parents had brought Naga up to Air Temple Island a while back, insisting that she would be a good therapy dog for their daughter. See, parents are smart like that.

“A part of me is glad I went to that camp,” Korra continued, “but… I wish there was a place where kids could go…”

“Where they could be safe with who they are?” Mako finished for her.

“Yeah.”

They sat at the park bench, just sitting and thinking. Korra couldn’t help but marvel at how her life had turned out. She was going to RCU with Asami, majoring in Communications. She probably would have had to work harder to get in, but when a CEO of the most influential company in the world mysteriously gives a University a fantastic letter of recommendation for you… well, sometimes the scales _can_ tip in your favor.

All of a sudden, the man stood— eagerly pulling Korra up with him.

“Asami’s at her office, yeah?”

“She should be— she doesn’t usually leave work until 7:00,” Korra answered, scratching her head in confusion.

“I have an idea. You’re going to like this.”

“Mako— where are you going?!”

“I have a business proposal for your girlfriend!” he said, running to the car excitedly.

Korra shook her head and followed, her dog happily bounding behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!
> 
> Will update again tonight, possibly two chapters. It depends on whether or not I go outside today.
> 
> I <3 U,  
> Ziraseal
> 
> P.S. I don't know how, but their world and our world are adjacent. Imagination!!


	29. Four

“I’ve looked at my figures. We have enough money to do it,” Asami nodded, leaning over her desk. “We’re going to want other companies to sponsor, though. But we can worry about that later.”

Mako smiled enthusiastically, “Perfect! Who do we talk to about the purchase?”

“Try asking Beifong.”

“Will do. And Asami… thanks!”

The CEO gave a tired smile and kissed her girlfriend as they exited the room. “Give me a proper draw-up of your plan. I can probably by-pass the board by making it a donation. I love your idea, though. See you later, you two,” she said with a smile.

“See ya, Sunshine!”

 

.               .               .

 

Korra knocked three times on the apartment door. She probably should have texted, but this was something she needed to tell Kuv about in person.

Shao opened the door and grinned.

“Hey there, Stranger. How can we help a humble soul?”

“Is your scoundrel home? I need to have a word,” Korra said with a smirk.

Shao laughed, “Yeah, she’s cooking lunch. Would you like to stay for some?”

“Sure!”

“Honey! Korra’s here!”

“Hey, kid! What brings you here.”

Shao patted a spot on the sofa and Korra merrily sat down next to the cop. Kuvira put the dish in the oven and sat down in the chair opposite.

“How can we help you today?”

Korra leaned forward in earnest, “I have a job offering for you!”

“What?!”

Kuvira had been juggling jobs at the moment, currently working as security at Future Industries. But what Korra had in mind… it would hopefully pay enough to support her and Shao.

“Mako and I had an idea this week, and we went to Asami for money. She approved and we’re going to start working on it this winter. As soon as we make a purchase, we’ll be good to go.”

“What the hell are you going on about?”

“You guys are going to love this.”

 

.               .               .

 

**_One Month Later:_ **

Korra took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. The air was crisp but the sun was beginning to warm up the lawn. A cloud of dust had sprung up— disturbed by her Satomobile. Asami walked up next to her and gripped her hand.

She hadn’t been here in three years.

All things considered, the place looked alright. It hadn’t been in use after… after what happened. There was nobody to take over— all the staff had been investigated and laid off. They would need to put in new buildings; the ones still standing were rotten. And they needed to fill up… fill **_it_** up with cement.

 “Where should we start?” Asami asked, staring at her checklist on her iPad.

Korra closed her eyes, “Just… just… I need a minute.”

Asami looked up with wide eyes, “Oh! Oh, Korra, I’m so sorry. Yeah… take all the time you need.”

Mako and Wu pulled up in their car, greeting Asami in a hug. Korra waved hello to them and continued to walk across the lawn.

Perhaps coming here had been a mistake.

_“Well, don’t worry. We’re here to help, and we’ll get through this together.”_

Perhaps she should call the whole thing off.

_“Ah yes, Korra is it? Your Uncle Unalaq told me all about you. I do hope that you can find yourself on the_ ** _correct_** _path here.”_

The Water Tribe woman kept walking towards the one place that… they couldn’t touch. The best memories. She let out a small squeak as the rotten wood creaked and groaned— threatening to break under her step. Thank the Spirits she’d learned how to swim with the prosthetic.

_“Your parents sent you away from a happy childhood. You had friends and family. Why, you even had a pet dog! But they sent you to live with your Uncle in the North without your input on the matter. There were better places to send you, weren’t there?_

_“You grew up without friends. You had to take all that anger and loneliness, and put it somewhere, didn’t you? A homosexual spirit can only enter our soul when we are at our lowest. You must’ve been an easy target.”_

Korra put her hand in her pocket and calmly began to rub the smooth stone that Jinora had given her. She said that sometimes it helps to hold something when you need to calm down.

_“You are the coolest girl I have ever met.”_

_“You’re pretty amazing yourself.”_

She closed her eyes and felt the wind run its fingers through her hair. Freedom.

_“You won’t see the picture unless you combine_ _all_ _the pieces of the puzzle.”_

She broke a branch off of a tree, whispering “sorry” to it as she swirled the twig through the water.

_“I wasn’t really happy up in the Northern Water Tribe. I guess I was lying to myself when I first came here. I thought it would suck balls._

_“Well… um… I guess some of the activities… I mean, I don’t really_ _want_ _to be straight. I’m okay with who I am. I’m here because my Uncle is making me be here… so…_

_“I am happy with the friendships I’ve made. They mean a lot to me, and I know I’m going to have a lot of good memories here. I like the environment— the trees and the sky and the lake. I’m not used to this much green. It’s kind of amazing. I think it’s a good change of pace for me.”_

Korra let out a sigh. She knew that, even if she would eventually get over what had happened, this place would be a part of her forever. So why not do something good with it?

_“I’ve been thinking about that, Sams. I-I want to ask one of my family friends if I can move in. They’ve got a place— you know Air Temple Island?”_

She could hear the trio walking around and surveying the compound— arguing about where new buildings could go, and what needed to be torn down.

_“You guys can go into the Spirit World again. And girls?”_

_“Y-yes?”_

_“Try not to get into too much trouble.”_

There were so many memories here. Permanently etched into Korra. Like scars? No… like… instructions. Teachings. How to be better. But this time…

_“We have a lot of work to do if we want to find out what’s really going on around here. But I need you all to keep your cool and pretend we’re all still trying to be straight.”_

Korra winced. She knew— after two years of working with Tenzin— that a part of her felt regret. Regret for joining up with Kuvira. For getting hurt.

_“You do know how to find your way into trouble, don’t you?”_

She heard them walk up onto the dock. Their special place. Asami intertwined her fingers with Korra’s. Wu put his head on her shoulder. They stood there, silently watching the lake.

_“Kid, we don’t give two fucks about Dear Old Dad’s dream of ‘straightening’ the world. Well, maybe I care a little. You all are a bunch of sickos… but the real game is down here!”_

They could never hurt her again. They could never tell her which gender to love. They could never do harm to the world. Never. Again.

_“You are all weak! I will die like a fucking man!”_

Korra let out a big sigh. Mako squeezed her shoulder. The four friends stood there— as one entity.

_“The explosion malfunctioned— what with the delay and all. It didn’t set off at the radius Tarrlok wanted it to. It took out the four of us and a few crates of Meth. The others, even the back-up that Lin brought in— they were all unharmed. They’ve shut down the camp permanently— for investigation reasons, but none of the staff wanted to stick around when they learned what was really happening. At least…”_

Not permanently. Just… it was going to be repurposed.

Her friends stood there, waiting for her to say something. She sat down on the edge of the dock and they followed suit. The sun was going down— and even though there was much work to do… but maybe not tonight.

Baby steps.

“Creating something new,” Korra whispered. “That’s pretty admirable, right?”

“Now you’re just looking for attention,” Wu teased.

 

**_End of Part Six_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *wipes tear away*  
> They've been through so much.
> 
> Final chapter tonight.
> 
> Prepare your butts,  
> Z


	30. Here's to Something New

**_A Few Years Later:_ **

Fai stepped out of the car. The Fire Nation boy was a little nervous, unsure of what the summer would encompass. But his high school counselor had been sure that the place would help him become sure of his sexuality. He wanted to be happy— and she’d assured him that it was the right choice.

He closed the car door and looked around. They were in the middle of the forest— so there was stuff you’d expect. Trees, ferns, a lake. But… there were also flowers. Everywhere. His heart skipped a beat; he loved landscape design. He gave his suitcase a tug as his mother went up to the “Welcome Table” to check him in.

They were the most beautiful plants he’d ever seen. His hand rested on the soft petals of a pink rose.

“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” a voice asked behind him.

He turned around to face a man, dark skinned and brown hair and green eyes. He had a wedding ring on his hand, and a mischievous glint in his eye. The man looked familiar— like a celebrity. Fai couldn’t quite place it.

“My name’s Rascal. I’m one of the Program Coordinators here. I see that you have some admiration for our garden!”

“Yeah, it’s really pretty!”

Rascal (Fai supposed that they used counselor names here) gave him a smile, “Well, our flowers will need a lot of attention— especially in the summer heat! You’re more than welcome to give them some loving care!”

Fai’s face split into a wide grin. “Thanks!”

The buildings were all new— the place looked like a college campus. One of the signs had a list of sponsors— dozens of progressive companies had been more than happy to fund the place, and kid’s entry fees. Future Industries was the top sponsor. There were hundreds of campers, playing games with counselors and laughing and having the time of their lives. Fai couldn’t believe it. He walked over to his mother, who was still at Check-In.

“Fai, these two ladies are some of the Program Coordinators! They’ll be working closely with you this summer!” his mother said merrily.

“Hey there!” one of the woman said. She had short brown hair and dark skin— but her blue eyes gave it away. Water Tribe. “I’m Iceberg! And this is my wife, Shock-Wave! We’re so happy you decided to come here!”

The woman sitting next to Iceberg looked familiar. Really, really familiar. She had long black hair tied back into a ponytail, green eyes, and she was tall. She was also partially Fire Nation, of that the boy could be sure. Fai wondered if Shock-Wave was… no, she couldn’t be…

“We’re all excited to see you grow and develop this summer!” she said with a warm grin. Fai felt like a million bucks already.

 “Thanks! I… well I **_think_** I made the right choice,” he said, a little shyly.

“Yeah! I think so too! You’re going to discover a lot about who you are here! We’re committed to making a safe, open environment!” Iceberg said proudly.

Fai gave his mother a big hug— lasting for a few moments. She whispered how much she loved him and how proud she was.

“I’ll miss you, Mom. I promise I’ll write!”

Iceberg and Shock-Wave pointed him to a woman in her mid-thirties and a man in his early twenties. They introduced themselves as “Badgermole” and “Turtleduck”.

“We’ll be your counselors this summer!” Turtleduck said with a grin. He looked like the older version of Fai, to be honest. Fire Nation and athletic. The only difference was that Fai was fifteen. The man also had a wedding ring on his finger.

Badgermole, an Earth Kingdom woman with a mole on her right cheek, gave Fai a high five and he sat down in the grass with the other kids in his group.

This… this was going to be awesome.

Fai, being the kind of boy who got distracted easily, looked back at the entrance of the camp. There was a big cedar sign at the entrance— he’d glanced at it, but hadn’t stopped to properly read it:

 

**Camp Avatar**

A Safe Place to Discover the Real You! A Summer Camp for the LGBTQIA!

 

The other kids in his group were telling jokes and swapping prank ideas. A girl to his right— Water Tribe— gave him a wink and introduced herself as Hanna. She was maybe a year or two older than him, and her brown hair was set in a Katniss-Everdeen style braid.

 _I think I’m going to like it here_ , he thought.

.               .               .

Fai sat at dinner with the rest of his group. He always loved outside seating, and today was quite possibly the most beautiful day to have it. The sunset was all colors of greens and blues and reds and purples. Like a rainbow omen.

He walked up to the barbeque and received a burger from an enthusiastic Earth Kingdom counselor named Fire-Ferret.

Hanna punched his arm playfully when he sat down, “So what’s your sticker?”

“Oh… um… I think I’m bisexual? Or is it pansexual? I’m not sure which one I am yet, but my High School Counselor recommended it.”

She gave him a smile, “That’s alright! They don’t push you here, they just teach you to be comfortable with who you are!”

“What about you?”

“Trans-Female! I’ve been going here a while, and they helped me figure out how to start hormone therapy a year ago!” Hanna said with a big grin. “I want to become a counselor here when I get older!”

“That’s awesome!” Fai said excitedly. “You would make a great counselor!”

Perhaps he was overthinking it, but he could have sworn he saw Hanna’s cheeks turn pink.

Turtleduck sat down at the bench and gave them a big smile, “So… how are you guys feeling so far?”

The table answered in scattered voices:

“Great!”

“Fantastic!”

“Excited!”

“I’m going to guess your real name one of these years,” Hanna said with a smile.

Turtleduck let out a laugh, “No chance, girl! Although my husband takes bribes, maybe you can get it out of him!”

The table chuckled and listened as Iceberg, Rascal, Shock-Wave all talked about the program events for the summer. There were going to be field trips and guest speakers— and classes in Queer Literature and History. It sounded absolutely wonderful to Fai! And the food was absolutely amazing!

 _Here’s to summer!_ Fai thought as he raised his cup and toasted it with Turtleduck’s.   _Here’s to something new!_

They had an hour of time after dinner and unpacking to do whatever they wanted. Some kids were socializing on cabin steps; others were playing at the volleyball pit. Some were reading on logs, or sketching the woods surrounding them. Everyone looked glad to be here.

Fai and Hanna decided to check out the dock with some of the other kids in their group.

“Are you sure we’re allowed down here?”

“Yeah! Besides, I’m Water Tribe! I’ll save you if you fall in!” Hanna said, smiling at Fai.

“The water’s pretty cold,” a voice behind them laughed. “Make sure you don’t have a noodle sword fight and fall in!”

“Protect the hair, Turtleduck!” another voice giggled.

“Oh, Spirits, I’d forgotten about that day!”

There were five adults sitting on the edge of the dock— Fai didn’t know how he’d missed them. Iceberg, Shock-Wave, Turtleduck, Rascal, and Badgermole were all hanging out together, their shoes and socks off and their feet splashing in the water. A radio was sitting next to them, playing music that was in style, like, ten years ago.

“Oh, don’t be shy, guys! You can hang out here if you want!” Badgermole chuckled. “Don’t let a bunch of old people stop you!”

“You sure?”

“We’re all here to have a good time!” Iceberg smiled.

The kids all sat down and together the group of people laughed and sang and watched as the sun reached the end of her journey. They all stayed out there, until the rippling water reflected the white glow of the moon hanging low in the sky.

Like a beacon of hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh my god
> 
> That's... that was so much fun to write. All of the jokes. All of the love. All of the heartbreaks. I had a great time writing that, and I can only hope you guys enjoyed that as much as I did. I never thought I would come to love Wu, Mako, Korra, Asami, and Kuvira from just thirty chapters of something I thought would be a fun idea when I was taking out the trash one day. I never thought anyone would want to read this. I guess I was wrong. If you stuck through to read this... thank you so much!! Every comment kept me going (even the negative ones!), and every Kudos meant a lot to me.
> 
> I'm not sure what I want to do now. Maybe some Opal/Jinora. Maybe some Korvira? Maybe some more Korrasami. I don't know yet. But for now... holy shit.
> 
> I had a great time,  
> Ziraseal

**Author's Note:**

> http://ziraseal.tumblr.com/


End file.
